Attack Of The New Zaibach!
by Rathorc Lemenger
Summary: This is an adventure story about a man from the real world, who gets teleported to the Escaflowne universe. There, he finds grand adventure and true love. D Read and Review! More chapters to come.
1. Call To Arms!

Attack of the New Zaibach Part 1  
By: Rathorc Lemenger  
  
(Authors note: This story series takes place over a duration of about 4 years. So please enjoy the story. It is also a self insertion AU fic. ^^ )  
  
  
Place: Real-world Earth, Time: 10:30 AM, Place: Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada.  
  
Today is like no other day. Bright, sunny and hardly a cloud in the sky. But there seems to be a strangeness to the air all around the city, almost as if something of a major importance is about to happen. There are people walking about and enjoying themselves.  
  
All of a sudden there's a bright beam of light that hits an apartment building in the centre of Dartmouth. No one seems to take notice of it as if it's not there at all. after about a minute it just disappears up into the sky.  
  
  
Place: Gaea, Time: early morning, Place: An open field surrounded by thick woods.  
  
The day seemed to be clear and sunny with a slight breeze. There were some ruins near the middle of the field. The birds chirped and sang and the bees buzzed. All of a sudden the beam of light from earth comes down from the sky along with a second beam and both land in the middle of the field, which cause all the birds and bee's to go quiet.  
  
After a couple of seconds the beam of light from earth disappeared back up into the sky leaving a crumpled up form of a 20-year old laying in the field. After about a minute the second beam disappears back up into the sky leaving a large heavily armoured, souped up stealth fighter; the wings are a deep red in colour when they are supposed to be black and they are of a different shape then what they normally would be.  
  
"Ahhhhh. Ouch", said the man all the while he's getting up and turning around to see the fighter. "Did anyone get the number of that.....bus?"  
  
Just then there's a loud roar from the other side of the field and some bushes were being crushed. All of a sudden a large reptilian crashes out into the field and turns and sees the man, who then turns and runs to the fighter jet. The reptile let out another loud roar and chased the man, just as he got to the jet and grabbed the hand holds and raced up and jumped in. Then he pulled the canopy closed and quickly puts the helmet on that he found there.  
  
"Damn it, how do you start this thing up", said the man after flipping a couple of switches in quick procession. All of a sudden he flipped one more switch which turned it on. "Good, 'bout time too."  
  
After a couple of seconds there's a dull roar from the jet. The sound from the jet caused the creature to stop in it's tracks and growl at the jet.  
  
"Missiles, missiles, where are the freaking missiles at", said the man.   
  
After a couple of seconds of searching and flipping of switches the man accidentally flipped a switch, that has the letters F,G , and B, to the letter B which causes the ship to change to a more humanoid form (making it look like a large knight in armour).  
  
"Damn, I've got to keep this. Might prove to be of use to me since I don't know where the hell I'm at", said the man.  
  
After a couple of seconds of standing around, the lizard charged at the mecha with a large defiant roar.   
  
"Oh, I don't think so pal. You are not even going to try what I think your going to try." All of a sudden the man pulled two levers and then pressed the button on one of the levers, which caused the mecha's hand to come up and fire the gun that it's holding. He hit the now charging lizard in the chest and caused the lizard to stop in mid-stride.  
  
After a couple of seconds of standing, the lizard's knees collapse causing the creature to fall to the ground in a heap. The mecha then looked around to see if there's any more of the creatures in the vicinity.  
  
"Okay, that was relatively easy. Now to get out of this and see what in the world that thing is", said the man.  
  
After a few minutes of searching the control panels and pressing some of the buttons, the man found the right button and managed to get out of the mecha. After he climbed down he walked over to where the creature was laying and bleeding from the gaping bullet hole. After a few minutes of studying the creature he just shrugged and walked over to the ruins and walked around them for a few minutes until he came apon an entrance into the ruins.  
  
"Hmm, this place gets curiouser and curiouser by the moment", the man said as he went through the doors and into the ruins.  
  
After walking for a while he came to a cleared out area that had an odd feeling to the air. In the middle of the clearing, there was a tree split down the middle. The cause of the split was a large sword sticking down the middle of it. The sword had a blade of about one or two feet in diameter with runes down the middle on the flat sides of the sword. The hilt was in the shape of a European dragon with it's wings spread out and the tail going down a little bit of the sword's blade. The swords entire length was a good seven feet in length.  
  
"Hello there gorgeous! Where have you been all my life", the man walked over to the sword and grabbed the hilt. As he did so a bright comet flashed across the sky. The man gave a sharp tug on the sword. The sword gave way to the man's pull and came out of the tree trunk.  
  
"Oof", The man tested the weight of the sword in his hands and after a couple of swings he looked down at the sword. " Geez, you're pretty light for something so big."  
  
:: Are you making fun of my weight, pal? :: asked a mysterious voice.   
  
"Um, where is that voice coming from?" Asked the man, looking around.  
  
:: Down here in your hand, it's the sword who's talkin'. :: Said the voice.  
  
"This has got to be a dream. First the mecha, now a talking sword." The man looked down at the sword in his hands. "Either that or I'm going insane."  
  
:: Keep dreamin', you were the one who pulled me out of the tree. So you get to keep me. :: Said the sword. :: Now, what do you want to do? ::  
  
"I'm leavin', that's what I'm doing." The man turned and started to leave with the sword in his hands. "This place gives me the creeps..."  
  
After a couple of minutes of walking around, the man finally makes it back outside and walked over to the mecha and just stood there.  
  
:: What in the world is that thing? :: Asked the sword. :: Some sort of guymelef?? ::  
  
"Nope. It's a Veritech if I'm not mistaken", said the man. " A weird Veritech, but a Veritech none-the-less."  
  
:: By the way, I forgot to ask you your name sir. :: Said the sword.  
  
"Oh, yeah. The name's Joseph Jason Edwin." Said Joseph, looking down at the sword. "and yours?"  
  
:: Malisk Firestorm is my name. ::  
  
"Well, it's nice to meet you Malisk. Um I take it that you don't know how to drive this thing. I've been having trouble trying to figure it out, so if you got some info that I could use, I'll need it." said Joseph.  
  
:: Unfortunantly I don't. :: said Malisk.   
  
"Well, we'll do it the old fashioned way", said Joseph shrugging. "we'll press some buttons until we can get the thing moving."  
  
Joseph walked over to the ladder and started to climb it. Once inside the mecha Joseph put Malisk down beside him and started up the mecha. After a couple of seconds Joseph put the helmet on and moved the lever over to the letter G, which maked the Veritech change into it's guardian mode.  
  
"Here we go, better buckle up", Joseph said, all the while he buckled himself in and put Malisk into a safer place.  
  
After a few minutes, the mecha started to race towards the far end of the field, until finally, it jumped up into the air. At the top of its jump, Joseph moved the lever to 'F' status, which caused the mecha to change into its fighter mode.  
  
After about an hour of flight time, thirteen blips appeared all of a sudden on the radar. Eleven of the blips seemed to be heading towards the other two blips. All the blips seemed to be five miles away from the plane to the west.  
  
"Looks like someone in trouble, with a capital 'T'" said Joseph.  
  
:: Should we help them Joseph? :: Asked Malisk.  
  
"We should, but I don't think that we're prepared to fight anyone yet, Malisk", said Joseph.  
  
:: I believe that I can fix that, Joseph. :: All of a sudden a bright light emanated from Malisk and filled the cockpit. After a couple of seconds, the light faded and Joseph could see again. :: There, that should be more then adequate. ::  
  
"What did you just do Malisk?" Asked Joseph without looking down at the sword. "And why do I feel so strange for??"  
  
:: Just some gifts from me. First, I just read your mind so I can know everything about you, and then I gave you what you wanted for a while now. :: Said Malisk.  
  
"Which is what exactly?" Asked Joseph.  
  
:: You know that form of yours? The one that is a combination between a human and a zoo of animals?? that form. I also gave you the power to 'shift' into it at will. I also gave you a lot of those interesting powers that I deemed worthwhile. :: Said Malisk.  
  
"Thanks. I think." said Joseph. "Now, let's go introduce them to the Epsilon Harold."  
  
Joseph slowly turned the veritech towards the battle-to-be, all the while climbing higher into the sky. After another two minutes of flight, Joseph flipped the Veritech around so he could see what was going on below him.  
  
"Let's see now, shall we?" Joseph said while watching what's going on. As he looked down, he saw ten grayish mecha and one red zoom towards a large ship with two large rocks attached to it, and a weird looking mecha in the shape of a dragon being ridden on by some guy. A couple of seconds later the mecha start to engage the dragon mecha and flying ship. "What is that moron doing? he's going to get himself killed."  
  
A split second later the Epsilon Harold goes into a steep dive. A split second later, the Epsilon zoomed past ten feet above the guy on the strange mecha and fired off eleven of his missiles at the ten grey flying mecha. As the mecha tried to swerve out of the way of the missiles, a couple of them hit each other and exploded, while ten of the missiles struck the others, except for the one after the red mecha which got shot down.  
  
Just then the red mecha took off in the opposite direction, away from the fight-that-was-supposed-to-happen.  
  
"Oh no you don't." said Joseph, and zoomed off after the red mecha. "You're not going anywhere pal until I'm done with you."  
  
:: Joseph, don't. He's not worth it. :: Said Malisk.  
  
"*sigh* You're right Malisk", said Joseph and veered off, going to the nearest lake. After about five minutes of flight, they arrived at the lake and set down, switching the Veritech to guardian mode.  
  
"I guess, we can relax now Malisk", said Joseph as he climbed out of the Veritech (which was still in guardian mode). He still held Malisk in his hands.  
  
Upon getting down onto the ground, Joseph walked over to the lake and knelt down, putting Malisk down on the ground beside him. Using cupped hands Joseph leaned over the edge of the lake and brung up some water to his mouth. After about twenty minutes of drinking, Joseph stood up, picked up Malisk, and walked over to the Epsilon Harold. All of a sudden the birds went silent, which caused Joseph to stop and listen. They were so silent in fact that he could only hear the lake lapping the at the shore. The wind in the trees whispered and his heart pounded.  
  
All of a sudden, a twig snapped in some bushes nearby.  
  
:: Joseph. Someone is in the bushes to your left. :: Warns Malisk.  
  
"I know Malisk. I can hear them. How many??" whispered Joseph.  
  
:: Two. Both males, both humanoid. :: Answered Malisk.  
  
"You know, you don't have to hide in those bushes from me. I don't bite." called Joseph, without looking over.  
  
A couple of seconds later, a nineteen year old man with jet black hair and a twenty-five year old man with long blond hair came walking out of the bushes. Both of them were carrying curious looks on their faces.  
  
"So, care to explain why you both are spying on me? And who, preytell, are you??" Asked Joseph as he turned to the two men.  
  
"First: we were not spying on you. And my name in Van Fanel and he is Allen Schezar", answered the nineteen year old.  
  
After a few minutes of talking with Joseph explaining how he got there, Van offered Joseph to join them against Dilandau. After a minute considering Van's offer, Joseph looked at him and accepted.  
  
"So, where is your ship at exactly?" asked Joseph.  
  
"Back there", answered Van, pointing to the southwest.  
  
"Okay, Lord Van. If you give me two minutes, I'll bring the Epsilon Harold", said Joseph, all while walking over to his ship.  
  
Joseph then climbed up into the Veritech and started it up. After a minute of flipping some switches Joseph started to walk the Harold along, all the while following Van.  
  
"Hey Van. Hold on for a minute." Called Joseph through the speakers as he switched the Harold through it's transformation into Battloid. "Okay, I'm done."  
  
After a two mile walk, all the while the Epsilon Harold was clearing a path to the ship using the autocannon as a type of ram, Joseph, Van and Allen came to an open field, with patches of wild flowers and bushes. About five seconds later there was a loud screech and a rustle in the tall grass to the left. All of a sudden a woman of about seventeen years of age jumped out of the grassy wall. It took Joseph all of a second to notice that she had feline ears and tail.  
  
"Lord Van! You're back!" Yelled out the woman, all the while licking Van on the cheek.  
  
"Hello Merle. You can come out now Joseph." said Van, looking at the woman, and then turning to the Epsilon Harold.  
  
"On my way lord Van. I just need a minute to shut down some of these systems", said Joseph, through the speakers.  
  
After a couple of seconds, the Epsilon Herald switched over to Guardian mode and Joseph jumped out, still wearing his fight helmet and carrying Malisk. He walked over to where a group was starting to form around Van and Allen.  
  
"So, Van, what was that thing that you were riding on when I came down?" asked Joseph, coming up to Van and taking off the helmet.  
  
"Hmm?" asks Van, turning around and looking at Joseph. "Oh that was Escaflowne."  
  
All of a sudden, a tall, physical ninteen year old brunette came walking out of the group. She looked at Van, after glancing at Joseph. "Hey Van, who's this guy?"  
  
"Hello Hitomi. This is Joseph, he's the pilot of that Guymelef over there that blew up Dilandau's forces", said Van pointing to the Epsilon Harold.  
  
"Hello Joseph" said Hitomi, turning to Joseph with a dream like look in her eyes. "I'm Hitomi Kanzaki."  
  
"How do you do. I take it that you're from earth too then? Probably from the Japans no doubt", said Joseph, who gets an amazed nod from Hitomi.  
  
"And this is Merle." said Van, calling Joseph's attention to the cat woman at Van's side. She was looking Joseph up and down in a way that a scientist would look at a new scientific discovery.  
  
***********  
And now I leave you! Just kidding! Part 2 of this chapter is up so don't worry! Read on!   
  
PS: Picture Malisk's voice sounding like Medabee's on the show Medabot's! (If you've seen it that is) 


	2. Call to Arms! (part 2)

Attack Of The New Zaibach - Call to Arms part 2!  
written by Rathorc Lemenger  
  
  
Upon seeing Merle close-up, Joseph's heart raced at a couple thousand beats a minute.  
  
:: I take it that you like her Joseph?:: Asked Malisk.  
  
Joseph walks over to Merle and takes her hand in his. "Merle, a heavenly name for such a stunning angel, brought down from the gods. Even your heavenly beauty makes the most perfect rose blush when you are around", said Joseph as he leaned over and kissed Merle's hand, causing her to blush a deep red, almost scarlet.  
  
:: Talk about an embarrassing predicament for her.:: Said Malisk.   
  
'Oh my! He's both so handsome and poetic!' thought Merle. After Joseph stopped, he straightened up and backed away smiling.  
  
"Okay, why don't you take your Guymelef over to the ship Joseph", said Van with a raised eyebrow.  
  
"As you wish lord Van", said Joseph, and then turned back to Merle. "Until another time, oh goddess of my eyes, who makes even the most full and beautiful roses blush whenever you pass by." He Gave Merle a small bow, causing her to blush even more. "Until we meet again." With that said, Joseph turned and walked toward the Epsilon Harold, followed by whispers from some of the men in the group.  
  
"Um, th-thankyou." stuttered Merle.  
  
:: You know, I think that she was enraptured by that speech. :: Said Malisk.  
  
"Tone it down some Malisk", whispered Joseph out of the corner of his mouth. "By the way, was one of the powers that you mentioned earlier, the power of telepathy?"  
  
:: Yes, it is one of the powers that I mentioned. That and limited telekinesis and a couple of other powers as well, that you will soon discover that you have. :: Answered Malisk.  
  
"Joseph, who are you talking to?" asks Hitomi, walking up behind Joseph.   
  
"Who said that I was talking to anyone, miss Hitomi?" Asks Joseph while looking at Hitomi out of the corner of his eye.  
  
"Because, I can hear someone else's side of the conversation when you talk", said Hitomi, all the while tapping her forehead.  
  
"Are you sure that I'm talking to someone and not to myself?" asked Joseph turning to Hitomi.  
  
"Positive", replied Hitomi.  
  
"Well, you're right, I am talking to someone", said Joseph  
  
"Who?" asked Hitomi  
  
:: Me. :: Replied Malisk.  
  
"Where did that voice come from?" asked Hitomi, looking around.  
  
:: It's the sword talking to ya, and before you say anything I want to get one thing straight, my name is Malisk Firestorm. Keeper of the dragon spirit. :: Replied Malisk.  
  
"You happy now Malisk?" asked Joseph, walking away.  
  
:: Very. :: Replied Malisk.  
  
Just then, a small rotund fellow walked around from behind the Epsilon, all the while studying it. Walking over, Joseph stood into the man's way and glared down at him.  
  
"What do you think you are doing to the Epsilon?" Asked Joseph.  
  
"Um, nothing, just looking at this magnificent piece of machinery", replied the man nervously. Then he started to walk off. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to be going."  
  
"Hold on a minute", said Joseph, grabbing the man by the collar of his shirt and turning him around so that he was looking Joseph in the eye. He lifted him up off the ground so that his feet were kicking in the air. "If you touched the Epsilon in any way, shape or form, I'll come searching for you and hang you by the toes until you can touch the ground with out even trying. Do you understand?"  
  
"*gulp* Y-yes s-sir, perfectly", replied the man, getting freaked.  
  
"Good", said Joseph. smiling, he put the man down and the man took off running.  
  
"You know, you didn't have to do that, you do realise that", said Hitomi, who had heard the whole thing and came walking over.  
  
"Yeah, I know. But everyone needs a good scare this day in age", said Joseph, all the while looking over the Epsilon Harold checking to see if the man touched it in any way, shape or form.  
  
"Hmm. You know? you're right about that", agreed Hitomi, nodding.  
  
"Nothing seems to be out of place. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to take Epsilon over to the ship and load her on somehow", said Joseph, as he climbed up and opened the cockpit. Upon climbing in, he looked down at Hitomi. "You might want to move out of the way. I really don't need anyone to get squashed under me while I'm moving."  
  
"Sure thing Joseph", called up Hitomi, smiling as she moved away.  
  
After closing the cockpit, Joseph put on the helmet and flipped some switches. After a couple of seconds, the Epsilon Herald came on line. Joseph then switched from Guardian mode over to Battloid and proceeded over to the ship. Upon reaching the ship, Joseph tried to move it into the ship.  
  
"Damn, I can't believe this. I might have to switch to guardian in order to move it into the ship. Eh, I shouldn't have been too surprised. Well, let's get over with." With that, Joseph switched back over to Guardian and slowly proceeded to walk it in.  
  
About ten minutes of trying, Joseph finally got it in the ship, even if it was a tight fit. During the shut down process there was a small knock on the cockpit glass.  
  
"Hmm?" asked Joseph. He looked over his shoulder in the direction of the knock, and saw Hitomi on the ladder leading to the cockpit glass.  
  
"How can I help you Hitomi?" asked Joseph as he opened the cockpit to climb out.  
  
"Just letting you know that Van wanted to talk to you in private about something Joseph", said Hitomi with a smile.  
  
"Thank you Hitomi", said Joseph. "By the way, you can call me Joe if you want to. You do realise that don't you?"  
  
"Your welcome Joseph. And I guess I can call you Joe if you want me to", said Hitomi.  
  
"Phht, I don't care. Just don't call me lover boy." Said Joseph with a smile as he jumped out of the Epsilon.  
  
"What do you mean by that?" Asked Hitomi with a pissed look on her face, her hand in a fist up by her head as if ready to kill Joseph.  
  
"Just kidding with you Hitomi. You got to lighten up sometimes otherwise you'll become too tense and you may lose your cool. That's all. Besides I find that name really grinds my nerves for some strange reason that I haven't yet figured out yet", explained Joseph, all the while backing off. "Besides both me and you are in a tough situation that even I'm having trouble comprehending at the moment."  
  
"Oh, I see what you mean Joe", said Hitomi, as she thought about it on the way down the ladder.  
  
"I got a question for you Hitomi", said Joseph.  
  
"Yeah? What's the question??" asks Hitomi, getting off the ladder.  
  
"Where do I go to talk to Van?" Asked Joseph with a confused look on his face.  
  
"Oh, okay. If you'll just follow me, I'll show you where to go", said Hitomi.  
  
All of a sudden there was a flash of movement and Merle appeared between Joseph and Hitomi. She seemed to be in a really pissed off mood for some reason.  
  
"Huff, huff, huff" said Merle breathing heavily.  
  
Joseph just leans over Merle's left shoulder "Can I help you with something miss Merle?" Asks Joseph.  
  
"Um, I had just came by to let you know that lord Van wanted to speak with you about something", answered Merle, turning to look at Joseph, and blushing.  
  
"I already know that he wants to talk to me about something, Hitomi here, already told me", said Joseph with a shrug. "Besides, I need to tell him that the Epsilon is loaded on the ship. Do you ladies want to join me? I could use the company."  
  
"Okay, I'll come with you", answered Merle, blushing.  
  
"Sure", said Hitomi, shrugging. "Got nothing better to do anyway."  
  
Joseph then turned around and started walking towards a set of stairs leading up. All of a sudden Joseph felt something grab at his arm and hold onto it. He looked down and saw that Merle was holding onto it tightly and leaning her head onto his shoulder, all the while blushing with a satisfied look on her face. Joseph felt a perfect warmth welling up inside him and then looked over to see where Hitomi was walking at. Apon finding her, he mouths the words: help me please! But all he receives is a smile and nod.  
  
:: Umm, Joseph, you're forgetting something. ME! :: Called out Malisk from the cockpit of the Veritech.  
  
"Oh yeah. I forgot something in the cockpit", said Joseph stopping and taking his arm away from Merle. He gave her a bright smile. "Be right back, okay miss Merle?"  
  
"Okay", answered Merle, nodding with a cheerful look on her face.  
  
Joseph then walked over to the Epsilon and reached in to grab Malisk. "Sorry about that Malisk, my mind was else where", whispered Joseph.  
  
:: No problem Joseph. I think that I can understand. :: Answered Malisk.  
  
Upon getting Malisk from the cockpit, Joseph jumped down and walked back over to where Merle and Hitomi were. Merle was giving Hitomi an evil look as if telling her to stay away. Upon getting back over Joseph held out his arm for Merle, who gladly took it in hers. He then looked over to Hitomi and just shrugs.  
  
After a few minutes of walking, they reached the bridge of the ship and walked in. Upon seeing Van, Merle smiled and let go of Joseph's arm. She ran over to Van and licked him on the cheek.  
  
"Hello Merle", said Van, looking down at Merle. He then turned and walked over to Joseph. After a couple seconds of looking at him Van extended his hand. "I just wanted to say thank you again for your assistance. And to welcome you to our cause."  
  
"Yeah, sure", said Joseph taking Van's hand and shaking it. "Besides, I really didn't like the odds that you were going up against. Personally, I have not much problems with odds like that. It tells us that we are still able to take gambles as they come our way."  
  
"I like his thinking!" Called out one of the bridge crew, followed by murmurs of agreements.  
  
"Quiet down you guys!" called out Allen.  
  
"Oh, before I forget. The Epsilon is loaded onto the ship and ready for the approval of the ships captain, and all standard regulations", said Joseph.  
  
"What?" asked Van with a confused look on his face.  
  
"It means that I'm ready for take off at anytime that you guys are ready." answered Joseph with a small smirk on his face.  
  
"Oh", said Van.  
  
Allen then turned around and proceeded to give orders for lift off to the bridge crew. Upon lifting off, Van lead Joseph to his room with Merle tagging along, all the while explaining to Joseph what was going on.  
  
"You know, I could almost swear that you guys are like a combination of movies that I saw called The Fugitive and The Three Musketeers", said Joseph after Van had finished explaining every little detail to him.  
  
"The what?" Asks Merle, looking up at Joseph. "And what is a movie?"  
  
"Well, a movie is a name for a bunch of moving pictures. And The Fugitive is about this guy who runs from the law in order to prove his innocence above all else", answered Joseph. "And The Three Musketeers are a group of men who fight the good fight and for the greater good for all."  
  
"I wouldn't mind meeting these men", said Van, looking over at Joseph.  
  
"Well, unfortunately you can't because the two movies that I just mentioned are works of fiction, which in turn means that they are not real", said Joseph looking at Van.  
  
Van just nodded and Merle still looked confused about what Joseph meant.  
  
"Well. These things seem weird, yet interesting", said Merle, looking down at the table.  
  
"Yeah, that's what I thought when I first saw the movies. Until they started to make a lot of sense to me", said Joseph, who had gotten up and started pacing.  
  
"Joseph, what are you doing?" asked Van, watching Joseph pace.  
  
"Hmm? Oh, sorry. I only do that when I'm thinking." Said Joseph, as he stopped pacing around the room and sat back down.  
  
"Thinking about what Joseph?" Asked Merle.  
  
"Well, as you may have already figured out Van, I'm not from around here", said Joseph. "But that's not what I'm thinking about. Well, when I first got here, a couple of hours ago, I encountered a large reptilian creature. It kind of looked like a Komodo lizard, also known as the Komodo Dragon, but of more considerable size and weight. Since then I've been trying to figure what the hell it was. I killed it of course, but I never even knew that anything that big could even live. Other then Elephants and whales of course."  
  
"You do realize that you had seen a land Dragon right?" Asked Van, with a raised eyebrow.  
  
"Hmmm, so that's why I couldn't figure out what it was", said Joseph thinking again  
  
"Well, come along Merle", said Van, getting out of his chair and walking over to the door. "We'd better get back to the bridge before the others get any idea's."  
  
"Yes, lord Van. I'll be right there, I just need to tell Joseph something", said Merle, glancing over at Van, who just nods and leaves. Then she looked over at Joseph with a strange glint in her eyes.  
  
"So what can I help you with miss Merle?" Asks Joseph when Van leaves, all the while scratching his head.  
  
"Well, I just wanted to thank you for saving both lord Van's and my lives." Answered Merle, all of a sudden she ran over to Joseph and gave him a lick on the cheek and then ran back over to the door and looked back at Joseph. "And you can call me Merle."  
  
"Um, thank you Merle", said Joseph, all the while blushing like a beached Beluga that had a deep sunburn.  
  
"You're welcome Joseph", said Merle. Smiling, she walked out of the door, all the while her tail is whipping around.  
  
"Well, I could get used to this." said Joseph, smiling once Merle had left.  
  
:: You're not the only one Joseph! :: Said Malisk, with what would seem to be an amused sound in his voice.  
  
***********************************  
  
About two weeks later, while walking around on the platform carrying the Epsilon Harold, Joseph heard the distinct footsteps of Van and Merle walk up behind him and stop.  
  
"Joseph." Said Van. "You wanted to talk to me and Merle about something?"  
  
"Yes. I did Van", said Joseph, turning to face the two of them. "Well, this is a little hard for me to ask this, and I really feel quite embarassed. But...with your permission Van, I would like to court the lovely Merle."  
  
"Wh-what are you talking about Joseph?" Asked Van in a surprised tone in his voice and a surprised look on his face. He then stepped back and looked from Joseph to Merle and back again and saw that the two of them kept looking from one to the other with genuine love for one another in thier eyes. This caused him to smile. "Well. I can't see why not. You have my permission to court her Joseph. But you must remember one thing. If you ever hurt her, you'll have to deal with me."  
  
"Thank you Lord Van. I am very grateful for this privelage", said Joseph with a bow.  
  
"Really lord Van?" Asked Merle, looking over at Van with a happy look on her face.  
  
"Yes, Merle", answered Van. He then turned and looked at Joseph. "Just don't make me regret this, Joseph."  
  
And with that, Van turned and walked to the bridge, leaving the two lovers alone. Once Van was out of sight, Merle turned and walked over to Joseph and gently took his hand in hers. Joseph then looked down at Merle and gave her a gentle smile and told her that he had always had and always will love her no matter what. Merle then surprised Joseph by telling him that ever since she first met him, she had loved him with all her heart.  
  
End of Chapter 1  
  
  
TO BE CONTINUED IN CHAPTER 2! "Enter Tamera!" 


	3. Enter Tamera

Attack of the New Ziabach Part 2.  
  
By: Rathorc Lemenger  
  
  
The day seemed to be warm, yet it was raining a slight warm drizzle. Joseph was out in the field practicing his martial arts with Malisk nearby, standing on his tip. After a few minutes of practicing, Joseph stopped and walked over to Malisk and picked him up, and started to do a form of Kendo, moving Malisk in strong arcs and thrusts at a high speed.  
  
A few minutes later, Joseph stopped and headed back to the ship and up the ramp, carrying Malisk tucked under his arm. Upon getting to the top of the ramp and dripping wet, Joseph looked around pleased with himself with the intense workout. All of a sudden, Joseph was bowled over by Merle.  
  
"Joseph." screeched out Merle, all the while licking Joseph on the cheek.  
  
"Merle, please stop." said Joseph trying to suck in some air back into his lungs. "Get off." he said.  
  
"Oops, sorry Joseph. Got a little carried away." said Merle getting off of Joseph and helping Joseph up off the floor. "Are you okey?" she asked.  
  
"No problem, Merle. I'll live." Answered Joseph, getting up and just standing there taking in air.  
  
"So, big boy, did you have fun out there getting wet?" asked Merle, running a slender finger down Joseph's chest.  
  
"Of course I did Merle. Besides, it's the best way to practice for any battles and still keep cool." said Joseph.  
  
"Before I forget, here, I brought you this." said Merle, handing Joseph a towel.  
  
"Oh thanks, Merle." said Joseph, taking the towel and giving Merle a kiss on the cheek, which made her blush. "You want to know something, Merle?" he asked walking towards his room.  
  
"Sure, Joseph." she said, all the while walking beside Joseph towards his room.  
  
"You're cute when you blush like that." he said glancing over at her. "That's what I love you for, well that and the fact that you are a kind, caring person."  
  
"Why thank you Joseph, you're so sweet to say that." said Merle, blushing even more.  
  
"You know, ever since I arrived here three and a half months ago, I've been in so many battles against Dilandau's forces with Van, that it's pretty amazing that I survived for this long. Well, I guess it's not all that amazing since I have you by my side and I have such good friends as Van, Alan, you and Hitomi." said Joseph when they finally got to his room.  
  
"I'm sure that everyone will be pleased to hear that, Joseph." said Merle, smiling.  
  
Once there, Joseph opened the door to his room and held it for Merle, who walked on in with Joseph going in right behind her. After a couple of minutes of Merle and Joseph talking, Merle excused herself so she go see if Van needed anything.  
  
"Tell Van that I'll be taking the Harold out for some flight time." said Joseph, as he watched Merle go scampering towards the bridge.  
  
"I'll do that Joseph, and if I don't see you for the rest of the day I want you to know that I love you always." said Merle, calling back.  
  
When Merle was gone, Joseph closed the door and walked over to the chest and got some dry clothes to change into. Once changed, Joseph walked back out and over to the Epsilon Harold, all the while carrying Malisk with him, wrapped in cloth. After standing at the ladder leading up to the cockpit for a minute, he climbed up and into the cockpit.  
  
"Well, might as well see if this bad boy is still in top condition by putting it through it's paces." said Joseph as he flipped a couple of switches on the dashboard.  
  
After a couple of minutes, the Epsilon turned on with a dull roar and rolled out and down the gangway. once down on the ground, Joseph switched the veritech over to battloid and walked to the end of the field. Upon getting to the end of the field, a large sword popped out of the left arm (close to the hand) with a slight shink sound. The Epsilon then swinged it's arm at a 90 degree angle and cuts down about ten trees.  
  
"Now that it's done, all that has to be done is for the trees to be cut into logs." said Joseph "Hmm, I wonder if we have any use for logs. Better go see."  
  
After a second, the Epsilon turned around and started to walk to the front of the ship. Once there, Joseph poked the Epsilon's head into the view of the front view port. He focused the camera's into the ship and saw Merle, Van, Alan and Hitomi standing around talking about something or another. After a couple of seconds of trying to catch their attention, he moved the Epsilon's left hand up and tapped the glass until finally they turn and look in his direction.  
  
"Hey guys. I've a question for you." said Joseph, over the speakers "Do we need any fire wood at all?" he asked, only to get both Van and Alan shaking their heads no. "So it was basically useless for me to cut those trees down. Well, I guess that I might as well put them to good use."  
  
With that, he steered the Epsilon around the ship until he got to the middle of the ship and looked into the portal that was there and saw that they were talking about something. All he had to do was tap on the glass and managed to get Merle's attention. Once he had it, he brought the mech's hand up to where it's mouth would have been and blew her a gentle kiss, which made her blush a deep scarlet red which in turn caught Van's attention and he looked back towards the window and saw the Harold there.  
  
Joseph then started to walk the Epsilon Harold back around to the back of the ship and over to where the fallen logs were. Once there, he started to cut them down into smaller pieces so they would be of more use for him. After a few minutes of cutting, Joseph heard stomping coming towards him from the ship. After a couple of seconds, Joseph switched from the forward facing camera's to the ones in back and saw the Escaflowne and the Scherazade come walking towards him.  
  
"Hi Van, Alan. What's going on? If it's something that I did, I apologise for it." said Joseph over the speakers, as Van and Alan finally reached him.  
  
"No, it's nothing that you did Joseph." said Alan, as his face shield popped up. "We came out for some practice is all."  
  
"I got a feeling that there's a "and" in there somewhere." said Joseph, turning towards Van and Alan.  
  
"*sighs* And to see if you wanted to join us." replied Van  
  
"No thank you Van. Not right now, at any rate. I've got to make sure that the Epsilon is in peak performance for any possible battles." answered Joseph. "As you know, one can never be too careful with enemies on all sides."  
  
"That is understandable Joseph." said Van. "And Merle wanted to talk to you about something. When you get the chance." he added.  
  
"Okay, thanks Van. I'll see you later on." said Joseph as he turned the Epsilon towards the opposite end of the field.  
  
A couple of seconds later the Epsilon Harold was running across the field, all the while switching to Guardian and leaping into the air. Once in the air, Joseph switched over to fighter and flew off over the trees at a high speed.  
  
******************  
  
"Now this is the life. Flying free as a bird with no problem in sight." said Joseph, after flying for over two hours. "I love it up here, it's so peaceful that I could fall asleep."  
  
:: I wouldn't advise that Joseph. :: said Malisk.  
  
"Why not?" asked Joseph.  
  
:: Because, I think that we're being followed so we're going to either get attacked or something is going to happen :: answered Malisk  
  
Just then, the Epsilon Harold sensors picked up something racing up from behind at a high speed, which caused the sirens in the cockpit to go off.  
  
"Hmm. I was wondering why it was so quiet for the past two weeks." said Joseph. "Well, I can't complain. It gives us a chance to test out some of the other systems."  
  
Just as he said that, Joseph pulled up on the joystick, which caused the Harold to climb and flip down so that he came up behind the Guymelef's. Once there, he counted about ten of them.  
  
"Time to turn up the heat." said Joseph as he pressed the button on the joystick which released five homing missiles.  
  
Once released they went speeding towards the Guymelef's as they turned. A couple of seconds later the missiles took out seven of them, and Joseph then switched over to guardian and hovered in one spot and shot at the last three, punching holes into them, which caused them to explode, scattering pieces all over the area.  
  
"Now that that's done. Might as well start heading back now." said Joseph. "But first, I think that I had seen a field back there. You mind if we make a little pitstop, Malisk?"  
  
:: No, I don't mind Joseph :: answered Malisk.  
  
Joseph just nodded and slowly turned all the while changing back over to fighter and taking off towards the ship. After about a half hour of flight, Joseph spotted the field and set down in guardian. After about a minute of turning off the Epsilon, Joseph opened the cock pit and jumped out onto the grass, all the while looking around.  
  
"This is a beautiful place. Right Malisk?" asked Joseph, as he looked at all the mixed colours of the flowers, and listened to the birds chirping.  
  
:: When your right Joseph, you're right. :: answered Malisk.  
  
"I think I know exactly what I'm going to do. Hmm, yes I think I know what to do." said Joseph, looking around and smiling.  
  
:: Oh no, I don't like it when you do that Joseph, you know that right? :: asked Malisk.  
  
Joseph just looked over at Malisk and smiles, then looked back out over the field. After spending half an hour in the field, Joseph climbed back into the Epsilon while carrying a bouquet of the most beautiful flowers that the field could offer. After a minute the Epsilon turned on with a dull roar and leaped into the air all the while going into fighter and flying off.  
  
**************  
  
Upon getting back to base and loading the Harold back into the hanger, Joseph looks out and sees that it's well past night fall and a lot of people are asleep. Joseph starts to walk towards Merle's room carrying the flowers.  
  
"I wonder if Merle's asleep yet." said Joseph.  
  
:: There's only one way to know, Joseph. Use your telepathy. :: answered Malisk.  
  
"Your right Malisk, maybe I should." said Joseph, as he reached out with his mind and felt that Merle was asleep. "Good, she seems to be sleeping like a log. Now, all I have to do is sneak in, lay these by Merle, and get back out without waking her up." He added once he got to her room.  
  
Joseph carefully put his hand on the door knob and turned it, opening the door. A second later, Joseph poked his head in and looked around, only to see Merle sitting in a chair, sleeping with her head in her hands, facing the door. Once he saw her like that, he walked over and put the flowers onto the table, he then walked over to the bed and took the blanket off of it, then walked over to Merle and put the blanket over her. All of a sudden she gave a small, happy sigh and smiled. Joseph then grabbed the flowers and put them where Merle could see them once she woke up.  
  
"I love you Merle," said Joseph, as he looked at Merle. "Don't ever change for me." with that he leaned over and gave her a small kiss on the cheek.  
  
All of a sudden, Merle's smile got bigger and she mumbled something incoherent in her sleep. After a couple of seconds Joseph turned and tip toed out of the room as quiet as possible for him and slowly, yet carefully, closed the door. Once outside, Joseph leaned up against the wall and breathed in a deep, happy breath.  
  
"Well, that was easy." said Joseph, smiling. "Now, time to hit the 'ol sack."  
  
Joseph then walked towards his room, humming happily to himself.  
  
***************  
  
The next day, Joseph got woken up by a fairly loud knock at the door to his room. After a couple of seconds, Joseph got up and threw a pair of pants and a t-shirt on. Once that was done he walked over to the door and opened it to reveal Merle standing there with a happy look on her face and the flowers cradled in her arms..  
  
"Joseph. Did you get these wonderful flowers for me and put them on the table for me to see?" she asked, looking up into his face, with her big, gentle eyes full of love.  
  
"Yes. I did. Don't you like them?" asked Joseph, nodding with a worried look on his face. "They were the best flowers that I could find."  
  
"I love them, Joseph. They're beautiful. Thank you." said Merle, smiling. All of a sudden, she stood on her tip toes and gave Joseph a kiss on the cheek, which caused him to blush. "You're really sweet, Joseph."  
  
With that, she walked off with her tail swishing from side to side behind her happily. Once she was out of sight, Joseph heaved a deep sigh and put his hand up to his cheek. After what seemed to be an eternity (but was only a minute), Joseph walked back into his room and changed his clothes, then gathered some things together. Once he had everything, Joseph walked up to the bridge to get some time in. Upon getting to the bridge, he walked in and looked around the bridge and saw Hitomi, Alan, Merle, and some nineteen year old woman with long wavy blond hair standing there talking. He walked over, greeting them, all the while Merle blushed and had one of the flowers in her hair. When Joseph saw the flower in Merle's hair, he gave her a quick wink, which caused her to blush even more.  
  
"Hey Alan. Who's this lady who carries herself with such dignity and grace befitting a angel?" asked Joseph, turning and looking over towards the woman.  
  
"She is an ally of ours, Joseph. Her name is Millerna Aston. Now give her the respect that she deserves, for she is a princess." answered Allen, with a slightly annoyed look.  
  
"Ahh. So that explains it." said Joseph, and he turned back to Millerna. "Please forgive me lady. For I was not in the right frame of mind." he said, taking Millerna's hand he kissed it.  
  
All of a sudden he got hit from behind and heard Merle running away, crying. And he looked down at what he got hit from and see's the flower that was in Merle's hair laying on the ground. He then picked it up and stood, looking down at the flower for a couple of seconds. After realising what just happened he took off after Merle. After five minutes he returned with Merle holding onto his arm and smiling a little, all the while holding a new flower in her hand.  
  
"I apologise for my actions a few minutes ago, Lady Millerna." said Merle, looking down at the ground. "Please forgive me."  
  
"That is understandable Merle. Nobody here will blame you for your actions." said Millerna, in a quiet voice. "All is forgiven. Hitomi here, has explained it all to me."  
  
"So, what's the plan of action for today, Allen?" asked Joseph, looking at Allen with a half hearted smile and a raised eyebrow.  
  
"Well, we're going to start off towards the capital of Legardo to get some much needed supplies and allies." answered Allen, looking from Joseph to Merle and back again with a knowing look in his eyes.  
  
"If you don't mind me asking, Allen, but where's Van at? It seems a little on the odd side for him not to be here at all." asked Joseph, looking around.  
  
"He's down in the hold practicing." answered Allen.  
  
"Okay." said Joseph, nodding. "Any idea what the E.T.A. is? To get to the capital I mean." he asked.  
  
"Oh, about a week. Give or take a day." answered Gadis.  
  
"Hmm, that might give me enough time to take care of some things that I've got planned." said Joseph as he scratched his chin. "Hey Allen. Do you mind if I take a look at the plans to this ship?" he added as he looked back over to Alan.  
  
"Yeah, sure. But may I ask why first?" asked Allen.  
  
"That's fair. Let's just say that I got big plans in my head for additions to put onto this ship." said Joseph, smiling one of his patented insane smiles that he had came to be known for.  
  
"Like what?" asked Millerna, with a worried look on her face.  
  
"Well. For one: heavy weapons like the cannon and missiles on the Epsilon. And two: more heavy armour, but not too heavy as to effect speed and mobility. And, one of my personal favourites, three: long range sensors and four:,which is a maybe, jet engines so that this ship can reach high speeds." answered Joseph.  
  
Just then Van walked in and over to the group, listening to what Joseph had in store.  
  
"Those are good idea's Joseph." said Van. "But, will they work?"  
  
"They should work." answered Allen  
  
"Lord Van. Your back!" screeched Merle, letting go of Joseph's arm and leaping at Van and wrapping her arms around him.  
  
"Hey, I thought that you were my girl." said Joseph, with a slight laugh which caused Merle to give him a playful swat.  
  
"Oh you." said Merle. "I am still your "girlfriend"" she added with a joyous laugh, which in turn got everyone else laughing.  
  
"I certainly hope so." said Joseph with his hand behind his head.  
  
"How fast can you get started on them, Joseph?" asked Van.  
  
"Well, I could get started on them now if you want me to. It should hopefully only take me a couple of hours to do, time permitting of course." said Joseph. "Oh, and before I forget. I ran into some Zaibach forces yesterday." he added.  
  
"Where?" asked Van, a stern look on his face.  
  
"About a hundred miles south of here." answered Joseph  
  
"Gadis..." said Allen turning towards his first mate.  
  
"Already on it boss." said Gadis.  
  
Allen then walked over to a compartment and got the plans to the ship bringing them back over to the group.  
  
"If you can think of anything else to put onto the ship, we'd really be in your debt Joseph" said Allen, handing the plans over to Joseph.  
  
"Well, we'll just have to see now won't we." only to receive nods from the group. "I'll get to it now. If you'll excuse me please." he added as he walked out of the bridge and out of sight. A couple of seconds later, Joseph poked his head back in. "Thanks guys. You coming Merle?" he asked as he looked over at Merle.  
  
"I'll be with you later Joseph." she said, and got a nod from Joseph as he disappeared.  
  
*******************  
  
A week later, the ship landed in the courtyard of a large castle. After a couple of seconds, some of the ships crew rushed out and started to tie down the ship. All the while on the inside of the ship, Joseph was busy working schematics for the new additions to the ship, not paying enough attention to hear the knock on his door. A couple of seconds later, a crack in the door opened.  
  
"Joseph you in here?" asked Merle, poking her head in through the open door.  
  
"Hmmm? Oh hi Merle. How are you doing?" asked Joseph as he turned and looked over at Merle.  
  
"I'm fine. I just came by to tell you that we landed in the capital of Lagerto, that Allen mentioned a week ago." answered Merle as she stepped into the room and walked over to Joseph.  
  
"Oh yeah." said Joseph, with a yawn. He then looked over to Merle. "Has it been a week already? Geez, time sure flies when your working."  
  
"Don't tell me that you haven't slept for a whole week, Joseph." said Merle, and she got a worried look on her face.  
  
"Okay then." said Joseph as he smiled at Merle, with rings under the rings under his eyes. "I won't tell you since you already know."  
  
"You should sleep Joseph. You do realise that, right?" said Merle, gently pulling on Joseph's hand.  
  
"Sure, I'll sleep. Once I show these to Van and Allen." said Joseph as he got up out of his chair. After getting up out of his chair, Joseph stumbled for a couple of steps and then righted himself, heading to the door.  
  
"Oh no you don't Joseph." said Merle, grabbing Joseph's hand and leading him over to the bed. "You're going to bed, whether you like it or not."  
  
"Fine, but only for a couple of hours." said Joseph, rubbing his eyes.  
  
Joseph got over to the bed and lay down. Once in bed Merle put the covers over Joseph and smiled.  
  
"I'll take these to Lord Van and Alan for you." said Merle, walking over to the table and grabbing the plans. Once she had them in hand, she turned around and looked at Joseph only to find him asleep. After a couple seconds of looking at him, she walked over and gently kissed him on the cheek. "I love you Joseph. I always will be with you in spirit, where ever you go."  
  
With that, Merle walked over to the door, carrying the plans and left, shutting the door quietly behind her.  
  
****************  
  
After what seemed like only a couple of hours, Joseph woke up and he climbed out of bed and walked over to the window. As he looked out he saw people walking around laughing and enjoying themselves. After standing at the window, Joseph walked over to his closet and changed into some new clothes, mainly the Cyclone armour.  
  
"Time for me to go see Van and Allen." said Joseph, upon finishing getting dressed.  
  
After adjusting a couple of the pads, so they look at least half good. He then walked over to his door and opened it only to see Merle standing there with a tray in one hand and her other hand reaching for the door knob to Joseph's room.  
  
"Oh, hello there Merle. How are you doing?" asked Joseph, with a confused look on his face.  
  
"I'm fine, Joseph." answered Merle, blushing. "Me, Hitomi and Lady Millerna got together and made you some breakfast."  
  
"Oh. Well you might as well come in now right?" said Joseph, smiling and opened the door for Merle.  
  
Once she was in Joseph shut the door and walked over to where Merle was putting the tray down. Once it was down on the table, Merle turned around and Joseph leaned over and kissed her on the cheek, which made her blush even more.  
  
"Thanks for getting me to go to sleep this morning, Merle. I really appreciated it." said Joseph.  
  
"Joseph, you need to know something. You've been asleep for twenty-four hours." said Merle, sitting at the table.  
  
"A whole day? you have got to be joking with me Merle." said Joseph, sitting down at the table across from Merle and starting to eat the food.  
  
"I'm not joking Joseph. You've been asleep for that long." answered Merle.  
  
"Hmm, no wonder I feel so refreshed today." said Joseph, between swallowed mouthfuls.  
  
After a few minutes of talking and eating, Joseph finished eating. He and Merle then got up and went walking outside, all the while they laughed and talked. While walking, Merle leaned against Joseph, with his arm across her shoulders and she cuddled against him. After getting outside, Merle lead Joseph over to where Van and Allen were standing around a table and having a heated argument about something.  
  
"What's going on here? why are my friends having an argument for?" asked Joseph, once he and Merle got over to where Van and Allen were standing.  
  
"We're trying to make out at least some sense of these plans of yours Joseph, that's all" answered Allen, looking up at Joseph as he came over.  
  
"Hmm, shouldn't be that hard Allen. I tried to make them as simple as I possibly could." said Joseph as he took the plans and looked at them.  
  
After a couple of minutes of looking, Joseph described to Allen and Van what goes where, and how to install the things onto the ship.  
  
"The only thing that we'll need is ten metal smith's and ten to fifteen metal smithers per shop to get everything that we need." said Joseph, looking at the others just as Millerna and Hitomi walked over to the group.  
  
Van and Allen just nodded in agreement. After a few more minutes of explaining and talking, Joseph and the others finished up and went about their business. Merle, Hitomi and Millerna walked over towards the gate house, while Van and Allen went walking into the main building and Joseph went back over into the ship and up to the Epsilon Harold. After standing next to it for a few minutes, Joseph unlatched a compartment, opened it and pulled out a large light weight bundle of metal and rubber. Once out, Joseph started to unlatch various pieces and hook them back together until it took on the form of a motorcycle. He then started to dig in the compartment again and pulled out another bundle, which shifted into a side car which Joseph attached to the motorcycle. Upon finishing, he grabbed the helmet from the cockpit of the Epsilon and climbed onto the Cyclone.  
  
"Well, let's see if this thing works. If it does, then I'm going for a ride, a long ride." said Joseph, smiling and putting on the helmet.  
  
After pressing the button on the handle bars, and turning the gas up, the ignition started up and the engine came to life with a slight roar, which caused some of the people passing by the entrance to the hold to jump.  
  
"Yes, works perfectly." said Joseph with a slight cheer.  
  
Joseph then let go of the brakes and zoomed out of the hold, through the air and landubg on the ground with a bone jarring thud as a couple of people dive out of the way. He then drove over to the gate house and stops by the gate and asks to be let out. After a couple of seconds, the gate keeper walked out and asked Joseph to identify himself. Once Joseph is identified as part of Van's group, the gate keeper walked back in and opened the gate and Joseph drove through the gate. After a few minutes of driving, Joseph saw Merle, Hitomi and Millerna walking down the street ahead of him, talking and laughing.  
  
"Need a ride ladies? or do I keep on going, minding my own business." said Joseph, pulling over and lifting up his visor, with a smile on his face.  
  
Merle, Hitomi, and Millerna looked at each other and then back at Joseph and smiled at him.  
  
"Well then hop on and we'll go together as a group." answered Joseph, "I can sit two people in behind me and two people in the side car. Your call." he added with a gentle smile.  
  
All of a sudden, Merle climbed up behind Joseph while Hitomi helped Millerna into the side car and sat down beside her.  
  
"We're all ready, Joseph." called Hitomi over the dull thrumming of the Motorcycle.  
  
"Well, you all had better hold on tight then. Cause, here we go."said Joseph as he hit the gas and zoomed down towards the marketplace, all the while Millerna, Hitomi and Merle were screaming happily.  
  
After driving around the marketplace, they finally headed back to the castle in mid-afternoon. Once there, they saw Van and Allen standing near the gangway and talking with someone.  
  
"Joseph, I'd like you to meet duke LeVenon. Duke, this is Joseph. The one that I've been telling you about." said Van as Joseph pulled up with Millerna, Hitomi, and Merle.  
  
"Hello Duke, as Van here just said, I'm Joseph." said Joseph, getting off the cyclone and taking off his helmet, then bowing to the duke.  
  
"So you are the one that saved Lord Van here. Anything you need, don't hesitate to ask Sir Joseph." said Duke LeVenon, looking at Joseph.  
  
"Please, you lordship. I don't really feel comfortable with people calling me 'sir' or 'Your Lordship'. Please just call me Joseph, or if you prefer to call me Joe." said Joseph, bowing again "And thank you sir for your most generous offer."  
  
"Your welcome, umm, Joseph." replied the duke to Joseph, smiling.  
  
"Thank you sir." said Joseph, feeling kind of glad. "You have a nice city here, duke." he added, looking around.  
  
"I know. It's probably the biggest city on all of gaea." answered Duke LeVenon. "Well, if you'll excuse me, I have a lot of things to do." And with that, the Duke walked off across the courtyard and into the main complex.  
  
"What was that all about?" asked Joseph as he turned and looked at Van.  
  
"We were talking and arranging for metal smiths foe the add-ons Answered Van, walking up the gangway and disappearing into the hold of the ship.  
  
"Okay, whatever you say Van." called Joseph, and looked at Allen, all the while helping Merle, Hitomi and Millerna with their packages. "Relation I take it?"  
  
"No. There's no relation between them other then the fact that Van's father knew Duke LeVenon personally." said Allen, as he helped with the packages.  
  
After a few minutes of unloading, Joseph took the motorcycle up into the hold and tied it down to the floor. A few minutes later, Joseph got into his room and flopped down onto the bed, in order to think of new idea's for the ship, but ended up blanks. All of a sudden there was a loud explosion. This caused the ship to shake, which in turn made Joseph jump up out of the bed and run over the window to see a large cloud of smoke rise up over the city.  
  
"Time for action." said Joseph as he ran to the door and out to the Epsilon. Along the way, Joseph ran past Allen. "Allen, if it's who I think it is then I'll distract them while you get everybody on board. Make sure that Merle is safe for me."  
  
"You have My word on it Joseph." he called out to Joseph.  
  
"Thanks." called out Joseph as he finally got over to the Epsilon.  
  
Climbing up the ladder, Joseph jumped into the cockpit and put on his helmet. A couple of seconds later the Epsilon roared to life and walked out of the hold and ran towards the nearest wall to the explosions. Leaping into the air, the Epsilon shifted from Guardian to fighter and took off flying towards the explosions.  
  
"Switching over to heat tracking and sight." said Joseph, switching over to heat tracking and sight. Once they were switched over, Joseph saw twenty Ziabach Guymelef's. "Switch from Gatling to beam." he said, switching to beam. "Now time to make some noise." he yelled out and takes it over to Battloid.  
  
Once in Battloid, the Epsilon landed between two of the enemies causing them both to turn and fire at him. No sooner then when the projectiles left the nozzles, Joseph was already up in the air from a good high jump, which caused the projectiles to strike the two Guymelef's before they could move out of the way. He then pressed the trigger on the joystick and sends a tight focused beam towards the other eighteen enemies only to have one of the enemies jump out of the way while the beam went on to strike the other seventeen, totally obliterating them in the process. Both the Epsilon and the Guymelef land and face each other.  
  
"Who are you and why do you people insist on going after Van for?" asked Joseph, talking over the speakers.  
  
"My name is Dishead. And Master Dornkirk wants the Escaflowne for purposes that are of no concern to you." answered Dishead.  
  
All of a sudden, the enemy mecha charged towards Joseph, and in the process knocking down a building. Once up close to the Epsilon, the Guymelef formed a blade from a large amount of liquid metal produced from the holes in what would normally be the hand and slashes up only to be blocked by a blade that was ejected from the Epsilon's left forearm.  
  
"I don't think so pal. I'd say that you would have to mess with me before you can even think of messing with Van." said Joseph as he pushed the Epsilon's blade down more.  
  
"Wh-who are you? asked Dishead, sounding a little stunned at the strength of the Epsilon.  
  
"My name is Joseph. Pilot of the mighty Epsilon Harold, enemy to all that is evil in this universe, and an ally to good." answered Joseph. "And your worst nightmare." And with that, Joseph manouvered the sword down the enemies blade, all the while swinging the other arm (which ejects a second blade) down, effectively slicing the other mecha down the centre.  
  
Once the mecha is chopped in half, the Epsilon stepped back as the mecha collapsed and catches on fire. All of a sudden there was a high pitched scream, causing Joseph to focus the Epsilon's cameras over in the direction of the scream only to see a little girl crying and digging in the rubble of the house that Dishead had knocked down in his mad rush to get at him.  
  
"Oh shit." said Joseph, transforming the Epsilon over to it's Guardian configuration and then jumps out throwing his helmet down, while at a run to get at the girl. "What's wrong?" he asked upon reaching the little girls side.  
  
"*sniff* My mommy.... and daddy are.... in there." answered the little girl, between sobs and digging.  
  
"I'll help." said Joseph, as knelt down beside the girl and started digging as fast and as furious as he can. After five to ten minutes of digging, Joseph finally uncovered both bodies. Only the woman is alive, but barely.  
  
"Daddy.... Mommy. Please wake up." cries the girl, carefully shaking her mother  
  
After a few minutes of being unconscious, the woman came to and started to cough up blood,  
  
"Careful miss." said Joseph, grabbing a handkerchief from one of his suit pockets and placing the womans head on his lap, while wiping away the blood.  
  
"Thank you sir. *cough* Where is my daughter?" asked the woman, glancing about. "I want to see my dear child."  
  
"I'm right here mommy." answered the girl as she knelt beside her mother.  
  
"My dear, dear child." said the woman, raising her hand and placing it on the girl's tear stained cheek. "Do you remember a little while back, when you asked when do people die?" asked the woman, gently stroking her daughters cheek.  
  
"Yes I do mommy." answered the girl, still crying.  
  
"Well. It's time for mommy to go, and I need you to be a good and strong girl." said the woman, as she looked at the girl, smiling. Then carefully, she turned her head and looked up at Joseph. "Please sir. Before I leave, I need to ask a favour of you. I need someone to take care of my child for me." she said.  
  
"I will be honoured to take care of her for you ma'am." said Joseph, with tears starting to well up in his eyes. "I will raise her as my own flesh and blood. You have my oath of me being a man, on that."  
  
"Thank you. Good sir." said the woman, then she turned to her daughter. "My dear, sweet Tamera. This man will take care of you. Do everything that he tells you to, and be good for mommy. I will always be with you." And with that, the woman closed her eyes and takes one last shuddering breath and then she was silent.  
  
"Mommy?" asked the little girl, placing her ear against her mothers mouth to check for breathing. "Mooommy!" Screams the little girl as she threw her head high and then placed it on the now cooling body of her dead mother. All the while sobbing.  
  
After a few minutes, Joseph moved over so that he was beside Tamera. He knelt down and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, causing her to look up at him. After a couple of seconds elapses, she saw the tears streaming down Joseph's cheeks, causing her to get up and she threw her arms around Joseph's neck and hugged him tightly and cried on his shoulder. After a couple of seconds, he put his arms around her so that she could lean against him without slipping, as they cried together.  
  
"Come child. Let's leave here. There's too much pain and sorrow here for you to deal with." said Joseph as he lifted her up, and carried her in his arms towards the Epsilon Harold.  
  
"Okay." she said into his shoulder, nodding.  
  
"What's your name little one?" asked Joseph, trying to sound as brave as possible for her.  
  
"Tamera." she answered, between the tears and sobs.  
  
"Okay, Tamera. You shall come and stay with me for as long as possible. And I'll protect you for as long as I possibly can." answered Joseph, just as they reached the Epsilon Harold. "Now let's get up there and head on out to meet my friends." He added as he shifted Tamera from both arms to only one as he started to climb up the ladder with her in his arm and her arms tight around his neck. All he received from Tamera was a nod.  
  
"Good. Now, let's put you in this seat back here, and put the seat belt on you." said Joseph, placing Tamera into the back seat and putting the seat belt around her waist and chest, all the while making sure that it was not too tight for her. Then he put a second helmet onto her head. "And put on this helmet to protect your head."  
  
"What do I have to wear these for?" asked Tamera, trying to look around with little success.  
  
"Well, they're there to protect you while we're up in the air." said Joseph, climbing into the front seat and putting on his helmet. "Now calm down, little one, and we'll be off in a minute."  
  
After a minute, Joseph turned on the Epsilon and took off flying towards the now rapidly disappearing ship that was carrying Van and the others, leaving the now burning city behind.  
  
"Bye bye mommy. *sniff* I'll miss you. I love you." called Tamera, as the city disappeared from view.  
  
"I'm sure that she both misses you and loves you Tamera. Where ever her soul is." said Joseph, as he flew the Epsilon. :: Hey Malisk. You awake down there? ::  
  
:: Yes, I'm awake. :: answered Malisk.  
  
:: I take it that you seen what happened? :: asked Joseph  
  
:: Yes. Every single minute of it. :: he answered.  
  
:: Do you think that I did the right thing back there? I mean do you think that I'm doing the right thing right now? :: asked Joseph.  
  
:: You followed your heart right? :: asked Malisk.  
  
:: Well, yeah. I did because I don't believe that no child should be without someone to guide them and to protect them. :: said Joseph.  
  
:: Well then, you just answered your own question. :: answered Malisk.  
  
:: I guess I did, didn't I? :: said Joseph, with a slight smile. :: Then I guess then it's time to move onto greener pastures. Right? ::  
  
:: Yes. Let's. :: answered Malisk.  
  
"Hey back there. is everything okay?" asked Joseph, only to be greeted by a slight snore. "Hmm, poor thing must have fallen asleep." he said, with a slight smile.  
  
**********************  
  
After a long five hour flight, Joseph landed in a field, next to the ship. After turning off the Epsilon, Joseph popped open the cockpit and undid his seat belt and climbed out onto the ladder. After undoing Tamera's seat belt and taking off her helmet (so as not to wake her), Joseph lifted Tamera out of her seat and jumped down onto the ground with a heavy thump, and carried her to the ship. Once at the ship, Joseph stopped and stood there for the loading ramp to lowered. Once lowered, Joseph walked up into the ship and headed to his room. Along the way, he was met by Allen and Van.  
  
"Excuse me gentleman, while I take care of this little package." said Joseph, walking past them with barely a glance.  
  
"Do you need anything, Joseph?" asked Allen, looking at Joseph.  
  
The question makes Joseph stop and turn around a little bit so that he was looking at them with the corner of his eye.  
  
"Yes. I would like a doctor for this little girl and some more appropate clothing for her." he answered, all of a sudden a single tear ran from his eye and down his cheek.  
  
"You got it Joseph." said Allen, as he rushed past Joseph and down the hall.  
  
"And Van. Can you do me a little favor?" asked Joseph, still looking at Van.  
  
"Sure, Joseph." answered Van.  
  
"Can you get the heat blanket from the first aid kit in the Epsilon? Please?" asked Joseph.  
  
"Sure." answered Van, as he turned and rushed towaards the Epsilon.  
  
Once he was at his room, Joseph opened the door with one hand, while still holding the sleeping Tamera in his arms. Once inside he walked over to the bed and gently put Tamera down onto it and put the blanket that Van had just brought over to him onto her. All of a sudden there was a skittering of nails in the hall as if someone ran past the open doorway at a high speed.  
  
"I'm in here Merle." Joseph quietly called out in a soft voice as not to wake Tamera.  
  
Suddenly, the skittering nails stopped and came back towards the doorway and stopped in front of it. Merle then pokeed her head in and saw Joseph standing there as Van left the room. Just then there was a screech and all of a sudden, Joseph was down on the floor with Merle on top of him, licking his cheek. After a minute, Merle sat up and sniffed the air, then looked over towards the bed and saw Tamera laying there asleep.  
  
"Who's this?" asked Merle as she went over to the bed.  
  
"Her name's Tamera, I'll explain it all later." said Joseph, getting up off of the floor and walking over the bed.   
  
After a few minutes of Joseph and Merle talking in hushed voices, Tamera woke up screaming and crying for her mother.  
  
"Shh, stop crying Tamera. I'm here. Shhh." said Joseph, sitting down on the bed beside her as she put her head onto his chest.  
  
"I want my mommy." cried Tamera. "I miss my mommy."  
  
"I know you miss her, Tamera. It's understandable." said Joseph, gently stroking Tamera's hair. "But she's gone to a better place and she did say that she'll be watching over you." He then turned to Merle, only to see tears streaming down from her eyes. "Can you see what the hold up is please, Merle?"  
  
"Y-yes Joseph." answered Merle. All of a sudden she got up and walked out of the room.  
  
After a few minutes of waiting and talking with Tamera, Joseph walked over to the hallway and looked out only to see a couple of the ships crew walking around. After checking, Joseph walked back over to the bed and sat back down beside Tamera.  
  
"Can I ask you a question?" asks Tamera, looking up at Joseph through tear stained eyes and some loose strands of hair.  
  
"Sure. You can ask me anything you want." answered Joseph, smiling down at Tamera and brushing the few strands of hair out of her face.  
  
"Are you my new daddy?" asked Tamera, looking down at her hands.  
  
"Sure, I'll be your new daddy. If you will be my daughter." answered Joseph looking down at Tamera, and smiling.  
  
"Really?" asked Tamera looking up at Joseph with a pure look of joy and tears starting to form in her eyes.  
  
"Yes. I will gladly be your new father, willingly." answered Joseph.  
  
All of a sudden Tamera lunged at Joseph and grabbed him around the neck. Crying large, happy tears. Joseph just put his arms around Tamera's shoulders, and they both cried like crazy. All of a sudden someone cleared thier throat from the doorway, causing both Joseph and Tamera to jump and look over at the doorway, only to see Merle, Millerna, Allen, Hitomi and Van standing in the doorway.  
  
"Umm, hi guys. How's things?" asked Joseph, wiping the tears from his eyes.  
  
"We are okay Joseph. So where is the person who needs a doctor?" asked Millerna, looking at Joseph with a gentle smile.  
  
"Right here, miss Millerna. I need you to see if Tamera here, is hurt anywhere." said Joseph, about to get up only to hear Tamera whimper and her arms tighted around his neck. "Shh, it's okay Tamera." he said looking down at her. "She won't hurt you. She's a good friend of mine. The only thing she'll do is see if you're hurt and how bad it is."   
  
"Okay daddy." answered Tamera, looking up at Joseph. "If you say that she is a good person, then I'll trust her."  
  
"That's my girl." said Joseph, looking down at her and giving her a slight wink. "If you need me Tamera, I'll be waiting outside. Okay?"  
  
"Okay daddy." said Tamera, nodding and giving Joseph one last hug.  
  
"Allen, I'm going to need some luke warm water. And I'll need both you Hitomi and you Merle to help me out here." said Millerna, coming over to Joseph and shooing him away.  
  
"Okay Millerna." said the three of them in unison.  
  
After a few minutes of standing outside and waiting, all the while explaining to Van about what happened in the city, five minutes later, Allen came back with a large bowl of warm water and knocked on the door. A couple of seconds later, Merle opened the door and quickly grabbed the bowl, then shut the door as fast as she had opened it.  
  
"Thank you Allen." called Millerna from the other side of the door.  
  
"That is okay Millerna. It was my pleasure." called Allen, from Joseph's side of the doorway.  
  
Five minutes later, the door opened and Hitomi walked out, shutting the door behind her. She then turned to Joseph and gave him a gentle smile and told him that everything was going to be all right. And with that, she turned and walked towards her room, only to return five minutes later carrying her bag.  
  
*******************  
  
About half an hour of waiting, the door opened and Millerna stepped out to be followed by Hitomi and Merle. Each of them is carrying a smile on their faces.  
  
"I'd like to present to you the new and improved Tamera." said Millerna, moving out of the doorway.  
  
A couple of seconds later, a small shadow stepped into the doorway and into the light, only to be revealed as being Tamera. As she stepped more into the light, it was revealed that she was wearing one of Hitomi's dresses, sowed to fit her small frame. Her black hair was done up in a ponytail and her face was aglow with happiness and small freckles crossing her nose. She then gave Allen and Van, a quick smile and ran over and leapt into Joseph's open arms.  
  
"Look at you, Tamera. Now if you ask me, that's what a little girl of your age should look like." said Joseph, smiling at Tamera and receiving a tight hug from her.  
  
"Thank you daddy." said Tamera.  
  
  
End of part 2  
  
TO BE CONTINUED......in Chapter 3! "The Arrival!" 


	4. Chapter 4

Authors Note:

Rathorc Lemenger: Sorry to not update in years, people. But I've been busy doing….

Merle: Busy? I'd say you were busy. *mumbles something about Rathorc just being lazy*.

Rathorc: Alright, I've had numerous brain dead times while writing the story. So sue me.

Tamera: You WILL be updating soon, right??

Rathorc: *looking down at the little girl* Yes, I will. Once I've got my own comp up and running again.


	5. Chapter 5

Attack of the New Ziabach Part 3: The Arrival.  
By Rathorc Lemenger.

(Authors note 1: Please don't sue me for any and all copyrighted characters. All other characters that are not in the original story line belong to me.)

(Continued from part 2.)

"Thank you daddy." said Tamera, smiling at her new found father.

"Hey, Allen. When do we lift off?" asked Joseph, looking over at Allen.

"In a little while, Joseph." answered Allen, shrugging slightly.

"Good. If you ll excuse me, I m going to load up the Epsilon." said Joseph, putting Tamera down on the ground and kneeling down in front of her. "Do you want to help me in loading the Epsilon onto the ship,  
Tamera?"

"Yes, daddy. I would like that." answered Tamera, nodding. After a couple of seconds, she leans towards Joseph a little sheepishly. "Um, daddy?"

"Yes, Tamera? What is it?" Joseph asked, smiling at her.

"I need to pee, really badly." said Tamera, in a small whisper.

"Okey then, we'll go and find some bushes where you can use it. Then we'll go load the Epsilon on." said Joseph, standing up and taking Tamera s hand, all the while they re walking down the hall. All of a sudden,  
Joseph stops and looks down at Tamera. "I believe that you re forgetting something Tamera." he said.

"What Daddy?" she asked, looking up at him while crossing her legs slightly.

"You forgot to say: Thankyou." Answered Joseph, glancing over at the group who are now talking, then looking back at Tamera.

"Sorry daddy." said Tamera, then she turns towards the group, with her jet black hair swinging, "Thankyou for everything." she called out and waves at them, and receives gentle smiles and waves from Hitomi, Merle and Millerna.

"There we go. Now, doesn t that make you feel better?" asked Joseph, smiling as they continue to walk, all the while he s holding on to Tamera s hand.

"Yes, it does, daddy." answers Tamera, smiling.

After walking for a minute, Joseph and Tamera finally get outside. But by that time, it's getting fairly dark out.  
Joseph then walks over to some nearby bushes with Tamera's hand in his. When they reach the bushes, Tamera walks to the otherside of them while rustling the branches a little. When she's finally done, Tamera walks back out from behind the bushes and takes Joseph's hand in her small, warm hand as they procede towards the Epsilon Harold.

"Daddy." asked Tamera, looking up at Joseph with shining eyes.

"Yes, Tamera?" said Joseph, stopping and kneeling down in front of Tamera.

"Who were those people that cleaned me and put the bandages on me?" asked Tamera, looking back to the ship as she lifted her dress sleeve and rubs st the bandage that's there.

"They," said Joseph, smiling and standing up. "are my friends. They were: Van Fenel, Merle, Hitomi Kanzaki Fenel,  
Allen Schazade and Millerna Aston."

"You mean that they are the ones who were in that big battle four years ago that my mommy told me about?" asked Tamera, sounding surprised as she looks back at Joseph while they proceed towards the Epsilon.

"The one and the same." said Joseph, smiling. "Well, we're here." he smiled as he carefully lifted Tamera up the ladder.

"Thank you, daddy." she giggled, as she climbed into the back seat and Joseph into the front seat. "Um, daddy???"

"Yes Tamera?" asked Joseph, glancing over his shoulder.

"Don't I need a helmet??" she asked looking over at him thoughtfully.

"No you don't. Not when all we're doing is moving the Epsilon onto the ship." said Joseph, gently smiling as he turns back around.

After a few minutes of flipping some of the switches, Joseph finally turns on the Epsilon and slowly walks it into the ship. All the while, Tamera's talking and looking out the window at the people as the Epsilon goes walking past them.  
Once in the ship and the Epsilon is shut down, Joseph and Tamera both climb out and step down onto the ground. All of a sudden there's a high pitched cry, causing Joseph to turn around to the source. A split second later, Merle is hugging Joseph's chest with her face buried into it.

"What's wrong, Merle?" asked Joseph, carefully pulling Merle off of him.

"I-I heard about *sniff, sniff* what happened." cried Merle, with tears running down her cheeks. All of a sudden, she let's go of Joseph and walks over to Tamera and kneels down so she's in front of her. "Tamera, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry to hear about what happened to you back in the city."

Just then Hitomi and Millerna come walking over to Joseph and Tamera. Hitomi walks over to Joseph and hugs him,  
while Millerna walks over to Tamera and hugs her tightly. Joseph looks over towards Van and Allen, with an evil look in his eyes that tells them that he wished that they didn't do that, and received shrugs from the two of them. After a few minutes of the tears and hugs, Joseph and Tamera finally get back to their room, only to be met by a new bed with white covers for Tamera.

"Wow." said Tamera, walking over to the bed and sits down on it. "This is a comfy bed."

"Well, I guess that that's your bed." said Joseph as he goes walking over to the table and sits down. "Now we both have a bed to sleep in and not have to worry."

A couple of minutes later, there's a knock at the door, all the while Tamera is bouncing on her bed and laughing. Joseph walks over to the door and opens it to reveal Merle and Hitomi are standing there holding a tray of food for both Joseph and Tamera.

"Hey Tamera." said Joseph, turning around and opens the door more to let Merle and Hitomi in. "Supper's here."

"Yay... Umm, what's supper?" asked Tamera, getting off of the bed and running over to the table and sits down.

"Oh. Sorry. I meant 'foods here'" said Joseph, smiling as he, Merle and Hitomi sit down at the table.

After a little while of Joseph, Merle and Hitomi are talking about what happened in hushed voices. All the while, Tamera is sitting, eating and looking out the window. After Tamera's finished eating she pulls her chair over beside Joseph and leans her head against his chest and cuddles against him, after he moved his arm out of the way and puts it over her shoulder.  
After a few minutes, Joseph hear's a small sound which causes him to look down and see's Tamera asleep with her head in her hands, all the while she's leaning against him.

"Well, I better put her to bed." said Joseph, picking her up and carries her over to the bed. "She's had a rough day."

"Umm, Joseph. Earlier you had told Van that this Dishead person had said that Dornkirk is alive." said Hitomi, looking at Joseph as he comes back to the table and seats himself.

"Yeah. Why?" asked Joseph, looking at Hitomi with a curious look on his face.

"Well. I had seen Dornkirk die at the hands of Van's older brother, Falken. How do you explain that?" she asked him with a raised eyebrow.

"Well. I remember you telling me about that and about how technologically advanced they were compared to everyone else.  
So my best guess is that they cloned him out of the DNA strands of his dead body." answered Joseph, scratching his head and looking up at the ceiling. He then looks back at Hitomi. "But your best guess is as good as mine. You know that Hitomi.  
Besides, I don't remember you having any visions about what happened today."

"Well, I didn't have any for you, Joseph." said Hitomi, shrugging with a worried look on her face.

"Umm, I have a question." said Merle, looking over at the sleeping Tamera and then at Joseph. "What's a 'clone'?"

"A clone is kind of a mirror image of something or someone But at the same time it's a seperate being." answers Joseph,  
turning and looking at Merle.

"Oh." is all Merle can say, as she looks down at the table top with an embaressed look on her face.

"Well. It's best that we be going." said Hitomi, getting up and walks over to the door. "C'mon Merle. Let's allow Joseph to get some sleep." she said, looking back towards Merle, who is still sitting down and looking at the ground.

"I'll be right there, Hitomi." answered Merle, in a quiet voice. "I need to talk to Joseph for a few minutes more."

"Sure, no problem Merle." answers Hitomi, glancing over at Joseph with a knowing look in her eyes and she walks out, closing the door behind her.

"What's wrong Merle?" asked Joseph, getting out of his chair and walks over to where Merle is sitting. Upon reaching her side,  
he stands beside her. "Did I do something?"

"No. It's not you, Joseph. Not really anyway." she said, as tears start to roll down her cheeks. "It's just that I think that things are going to change around here. With Tamera being here, I'm afraid that you won't love me anymore."

"Oh Merle." said Joseph, as he kneels down in front of Merle. "Is that what you think?" he asked only to receive a nod from her. "Well, just because I have to take care of Tamera doesn't mean that I won't stop loving you."

"Really?" asked Merle, looking up at Joseph with tears in her eyes and a happy and relieved look on her face.

"Yes, really." he answered, as he gets up and helps Merle to her feet. "In fact, I have always loved you and I always will.  
Nothing can change that and nothing can take that from you." with that, Joseph puts two fingers under Merle's chin,  
lifting it up. Joseph then leans in and kisses Merle on the lips, which causes her to go limp slightly.

After a minute of kissing, Merle pulls away, blushing and excuses herself. She then goes over to the door, opens it and walks out, shutting it behind her. A couple of seconds later, Joseph hears a happy sigh from the other side of the door and then silence. After a minute of standing there smiling, Joseph turns and starts getting changed into a t-shirt and shorts for bed.

After he finishes getting ready for bed, Joseph walks over to his bed and climbs in. Just as he lays his head down onto the pillow, he falls straight to a nightmare filled sleep.

**************************

Later that night, Joseph is awakened by a small sound. After a couple of seconds, Joseph hears it again, which causes him to open his eyes in order to look around only to see Tamera sitting up in her bed with her head in her hands and her elbows on her knees. The sound seems to be coming from her.

"What's wrong Tamera?" asks Joseph, sitting up, getting out of bed and walks over to Tamera's bed.

"I'm scared, daddy." said Tamera, looking up at Joseph and crying.

"What would you be scared of Tamera?" asked Joseph, sitting down on the edge of the bed. "There's nothing in this room but you and me."

"I'm scared that you will leave me all alone with no one to help me." she said, sobbing even harder.

"Hush child." said Joseph, reaching over and stroking the back of Tamera's head. "I would never leave you, unless it was absulutly necessary and even then, I'd make sure that someone is with you. You know that as well as I know it."

"Oh daddy." said Tamera, lunging at Joseph and throws her arms around his neck. "Do you promise?"

"I promise." said Joseph, holding Tamera against him, smiling and stroking her back. "I have a good idea." he said after a minute. "How about you come and lay down with me tonight. Hmm?"

"Okey daddy." answered Tamera, getting up with Joseph as they get off her bed.

"Maybe we'll be able to both get a more better rest if we stick together." said Joseph, as they both walk over to the bed and climb in under the covers.

"Daddy?" asked Tamera, turning around so she can see Joseph better.

"Yes Tamera?" he asked, smiling down at her.

"Do you love miss Merle?" she asked, looking up at him with her green eyes.

"Yes. I do love her. Why do you ask?" Joseph asked, looking at Tamera with a smile on his face as he reaches over to stroke her hair so he can comfort her.

"I *yawn* just wanted to know." she said, as she lays her head onto Joseph's shoulder. "And daddy??"

"Yes?" he said, with a small trace of humour in his voice.

"I love you." she said. And with that, Tamera falls into a deep, restful sleep.

"I love you too, Tamera." said Joseph, smiling, and he leans down and gives Tamera a gentle kiss on the forehead.

After a few minutes, sleep finally over takes Joseph as he thinks of the little bundle of joy in his life.

**********************

"Daddy. Wake up daddy." said Tamera, happily shaking Joseph awake from the side of his bed.

"What is it Tamera?" he asked, opening an eye closest to Tamera.

"Someone brought us some food." she answered, as she skipped over to the table and sits down.

"Oh really now." said Joseph, yawning and getting up out of bed. He then walks over to the table. "Let's see what we have to eat, shall we?"

Once at the table, Joseph stops when he hears a faint sound and listens, only to be met by a slight rustle of fabric coming from the other side of the door a couple of seconds later.

"What's wrong daddy?" asked Tamera, looking up at Joseph with a confused look on her face.

"I don't know, honey." said Joseph, putting a finger to his lips for her to be quiet, as he walks to the door silently. "You know something Tamera?" he asked as he grabs Malisk.

"What daddy?" said Tamera, getting up and moving to the side and out of the way.

"I never knew that doors could rustle." said Joseph, and with that, he flings open the door and holds Malisk at a ready position. Only to see Merle leaning on thin air, twirling her arms to keep from falling, but to no avail. "Whoa, careful Merle.  
I don't need you to get hurt." he said as he quickly puts Malisk to the side and catches her in mid-fall. "Otherwise Van would kill me if harm were to come to you."

"Thanks, Joseph." she said, blushing and looking up at him with love in her eyes.

"Not a problem. That's what I'm here for." said Joseph, smiling and gives Merle a wink, all the while helping her up.  
"Hey Merle. By chance, were you the one who brought the food here?" he asked, once Merle has her feet under her and standing. She then brushes off her dress as if there was some dust on it.

"Yes. Why?" she asked, glancing over at Tamera, who had sat back down at the table and started eating. She then looks at Joseph with a worried look on her face. "Is something wrong with it?"

"Nothing is wrong, Merle." said Joseph glancing over at the food, then glances back at Merle with a smile on his face. "It looks delicious."

"Thank you, miss Merle." said Tamera, between chews. A couple of seconds later, Tamera swallows her mouth full and gets up from her seat and walks over to Merle and gives her a hug around the waist which causes Merle to tear up. "You want to know something, miss Merle?"

"What?" asked Merle, looking down at Tamera with tears starting to form even more in her eyes and a smile on her face.

"Daddy really loves you." answers Tamera, as she let's go and walks back over to the table and goes back to eating.

"I already know that Tamera." answered Merle, looking over at Joseph and see's him blushing a deep red.

"W-would you like to join us Merle?" asked Joseph stuttering, as he walks over to table and pulls a chair out for Merle.

"Okey. I would like that." answers Merle, as she walks over, smiling, and sits in the chair that Joseph offered and blushing all the while at Joseph's stuttering question.

"Um.... Merle?" asked Joseph, as he sits and grabs a roll of bread.

"Yes Joseph?" asked Merle, as she gently gets a piece of meat from Joseph's plate with a smile of general amusement on her face.

"I'm sorry about last night." he said, blushing a little more red. "I was a little.... um.... hasty in the way that I was acting."  
he said, nervously.

"You weren't hasty, Joseph." answered Merle, blushing. "In fact, I've waited for that moment for a long time. Besides,  
I enjoyed it a lot."

"Well, I enjoyed it too." said Joseph, smiling gently.

"I liked it too." said Tamera, as she looks from Joseph to Merle and back again, only to receives shocked looks from both adults.

Just then, Tamera giggles which then causes both Merle and Joseph to laugh. Upon seeing Joseph laugh, both Tamera and Merle start to laugh even harder. After a few minutes of laughing, Joseph, Merle and Tamera calm down and finish eating. Once done, Joseph sends Merle and Tamera outside on the excuse that he has to get changed and not letting anyone see him in his undergarments.

"Well, what shall we do today, ladies?" asked Joseph, walking out of his room wearing a pair of jogging pants and a t-shirt.

"I don't know, daddy." answered Tamera, as she takes hold of Joseph's offered hand just as Merle takes his other arm.

"Well, we could go to the bridge and look out at the view." said Joseph, as the three of them start walking. "Besides, I need to talk to Van about a few things."

"About what Joseph?" asked Merle, looking up at him with a cocked eyebrow.

"Oh, just this, that and the other thing." he answered, with a smile while trying not to give any hints on what he is thinking of.

After a two minute walk, they finally reach the bridge where Van, Allen and Hitomi are standing and talking.

"Hey." said Joseph as he comes up to the group. All of a sudden he looks around. "Umm, I realise that it's none of my business here, but: where's Millerna at? Normally she's up here with you guys when I get here."

"She's still in her room." answered Hitomi, looking over at Joseph with a look in her eyes that says that it's a woman thing.

"Hmm. Probably taking care of some princess things no doubt." said Joseph, nodding his head in understanding. He then turns and looks in Allen s direction. "So, where we headed?"

"We're headed to a city called Chepenstar." answers Allen, looking at Joseph with a slight confused look in his eyes. "It's the second largest and main capital city of Legardo. It's where the king and queen are. We'll be there within five hours."

"Sounds good to me." said Joseph. All of a sudden he feels a small tug his arm, which causes him to look down to see Tamera carrying a nervous look in her eyes. "Yes Tamera? What is it?" he asks, bending down so that he's at eye level with Tamera, who is looking around with a nervous look on her face.

"I need to pee." she whispers into his ear. "Really bad."

"Oh, okey." he then stands and looks over towards Allen. "Hey, Allen. Can we land for a few minutes?"

"Why?" asked Allen, turning to face Joseph. "Something wrong?"

"Well, Tamera needs to visit the nearest bush for a little R&R." answered Joseph, looking at Allen with a raised eyebrow.  
"If you catch my meaning."

"Yeah, no problem." he said, looking from Joseph to Tamera and back again with a small smile, then he turns around and issues the command to land in the nearest cleared area.

"Yes sir." answered Gadis. "You heard him, guys. Let's set 'er down."

********************

A few minutes later, the ship lands beside a lake and both Joseph and Tamera get off and go towards the farthest bushes. Joseph then stops and turns around as Tamera quickly runs to the other side of the bush. Two minutes later, Tamera comes walking back around with a large smile on her face and a skip in her step.

"Feel better?" asked Joseph, turning and looking down at Tamera.

"Yes, daddy." she answers, as she takes Joseph's hand and looks up at him. "I feel much better."

"That's good to hear. I just hope that you wiped yourself." he said, as they start to walk.

"Yes I did, daddy." she said, carrying a large satisfied smile on her face.

On the way back to the ship, Joseph see's Merle, Hitomi, and Millerna come running out of the ship with red faces, followed by Allen. All three women run to the other end of the clearing and into some bushes, while Allen waits near the hatch.

"Let me guess," said Joseph, coming up to Allen. "Ol' mother nature calling a time out for them too, eh?"

"No they said that they need to use the bathroom." answered Allen, glancing over at Joseph.

"That's what I said, Allen." said Joseph, looking over at the slighly moving bushes.

"I will never understand you, Joseph." said Allen, as he's watching the bushes that the women are behind which are shaking a little bit more.

"Just the way I like it." said Joseph, smiling. "So. You want to have some fun?"

"Depends on what you have in mind, Joseph." Allen said, glancing at Joseph with a nervous look.

"Well, let's see." said Joseph, letting go of Tamera's hand and digs through his pockets for a minute. He manages to pull out a piece of gum (which he gives to Tamera to chew on), a cherrybomb, a box of matches, and his laser pistol from the Cyclone. He looks down at the pistol for a minute and smiles, then turns to Allen. "One shot. One small explosion. Three scared and screaming women."

"Hmm." said Allen, as he looks down at the pistol, then at Joseph and then to the bushes and back again. He then looks back at Joseph while shaking his head. "I don't think so, Joseph."

"Actually, I'm not going to bother. I don't need three pissed off women after me." said Joseph as he puts the stuff back into his pockets. A minute later, he brings his hands up to his mouth and calls out. "Hurry up ladies. Time's a wasting."

"I'm going as fast as I can here. We don't need anyone rushing us." called Hitomi, from behind her bush.

"I'm done." called Merle as she leaps from behind her bush and comes running at Joseph on all fours. A second later, Joseph's down on the ground with Merle on top of him, licking him on the cheek and Tamera giggling around her mouthfull of gum beside them.

After a couple of seconds, Merle finally gets off of Joseph and helps him up. A few minutes later, Joseph walks up the gangway with Merle holding one hand and Tamera holding the other, he's followed by Hitomi, Allen and Millerna. Five minutes later, the ship lifts off and proceeds towards the city that Allen mentioned earlier.

*******************

A couple of hours later, the ship sets down outside of the city. Once the ship is down, Joseph, Merle and Tamera go down into the hold. Both Tamera and Merle give Joseph a hand in undoing the Super-Samson from the ship's floor, all Joseph gets Tamera to do is to hold the helmets. A few minutes later, the three of them come rolling out of the ship on the Super-Samson. Tamera and Merle are sitting in the sidecar while Joseph is on the main body. Joseph drives over to where Van, Allen, Hitomi and Millerna are waiting for them near three carriages.

"So, where are we headed to now, Van?" asked Joseph, as Van climbs into his and Hitomi's carriage.

"Well, I don't really know, Joseph." said Van, sitting down in his seat and looking out his window at Joseph. "Why are you using that vehicle for Joseph? You know that you can come in one of these carriages."

"No offense to anyone but, I'd much rather stick to the S.S. here. Feels more safer for me." answered Joseph, he then looks over at Merle to see that she's looking at Van with sad eyes. "Hey Merle. You know that you can go with them if you want to."

"Are you sure that you don't need me with you?" asked Merle, turning and looking up at Joseph.

"Go on. Besides, I want to spend some time with my daughter alone." he said, smiling as he looks from Merle to Tamera and back again. "So that you can climb into the carraige with Van and skidaddle over to the castle with him. I'll be following you all the way there."

"Okey. If you say so Joseph." said Merle, climbing out of the sidecar and into Van's and Hitomi's carriage. All of a sudden, she pokes her head out as the carriage pulls away. "I'll see you later, Joseph. I love you."

"I love you too Merle." Joseph calls out, as Allen s and Millerna's carriage goes by.

"Daddy." said Tamera, reaching over and tugging on Joseph's shirt.

"Yes Tamera?" asked Joseph, looking down at Tamera.

"They're leaving us behind." she said, pointing after the small caravan.

"Oh. Yeah." said Joseph, relising what's going on and he gives the Samson some gas and follows behind the caravan. "We'd better catch up then."

After a few minutes of Joseph driving and talking with his daughter, they finally reach their destination, which is a large structure with a courtyard and is surrounded by a tall wall. Once they stop, Joseph shuts off the Samson and gets off and walks over to the sidecar. He then helps Tamera by taking off her helmet and unbuckles her seat belt, he then lifts her out and carries her towards Van and the others are walking towards the building. All of a sudden he stops in front of a group of soldiers that are standing around and talking.

"Where's your Commander?" asked Joseph, looking from one soldier to another with a serious look on his face.

"That would be me, sir." said a large soldier, coming up beside Joseph. "How can I help?"

"See that?" asked Joseph, as he points towards his cyclone with his free hand.

"Yes, I do." answered the soldier, looking towards the cyclone and then back at Joseph. "What of it?"

"I want your word that NO one is to touch it." answered Joseph, in a stern voice. "The reason for me asking you to do this is that it has a special system built into it that can either kill any man that doesn't know the code to disarming it, instantly or it will kill any hopes that that man may have in making children with the women that he loves. Do you understand me?"

"Yes sir. I understand and you have my word. I promise." said the soldier, getting nervous as he casts a nervous look over at the Cyclone.

"Good." said Joseph, and with that, Joseph follows Van and the others into the building.

"Daddy." Tamera whispers into Joseph's left ear.

"Yes Tamera?" Joseph asked, looking at Tamera. "What is it?"

"I didn't see you press anything." She said, looking into his eyes.

"I know that sweety." said Joseph, with a smile crossing his face. "What I just did is what I like to call a white bluff."

"A white bluff?" asked Tamera, confused. "What's that?"

"It means that I told those men not to touch the Cyclone, otherwise they will get hurt." said Joseph, with a small satisfied smile on his face.

After a few minutes of walking, Joseph and the gang enter a large chamber. Sitting at the far end are a distinguished man with a dark complexion with long blue hair and a brown beard and mustache, along with a woman with long light green hair, medium-set build, fair complexion and a slight sprinkle of freckles across her face on two fair sized thrones. Van, Allen, Hitomi and Millerna walk over and stop ten feet from the thrones. Both Van and Allen bow, while Hitomi and Millerna curtsies. Joseph puts Tamera down on the ground and rests his hand on her shoulder, all the while standing at the other end of the room beside Merle. After a few minutes of Van and Allen sharing hushed words with the couple up on the thrones, the man and woman stand and come walking towards Joseph. Once the couple are in front of Joseph, Merle and Tamera, Joseph bows while Merle and Tamera both curtsy.

Once back up from his bow, Joseph notices that the man is studying him with a predatory gaze that seems to pierce down into his very soul (almost like a male lion studying it's next meal), it starts to make Joseph nervous on the inside all the while his features are remaining like ice on the outside.

"Who are you sir?" asked the man, after a minute of studying Joseph.

"My name is Joseph Jason Edwin, sir." answered Joseph truthfully, all the while standing as straight and strong as possible for him.

"And you child?" asks the man, looking down at Tamera.

All of a sudden, Tamera hides behind Joseph's legs with a look that's a combination of nervous and scared on her face.

"Please excuse her sir." said Joseph, glancing down at Tamera. "But she's just a little nervous around people that she doesn't know."

"Hmm? she has nothing to fear from me or my wife." said the man, as he kneels down so that he's at eye level with Tamera. "You have no reason to fear us child. Now will you tell us your name?" he said with a gentle smile.

"M-my name is Tamera Edwin s-sir." answered Tamera, poking her head from behind Joseph nervously.

"Tamera. That's a sweet name you have" said the woman, with a gentle smile. "Well, my name is Queen Tabitha Mahoose. And this is my husband," said the woman gesturing to her husband. "King Maximilian Mahoose."

"H-hello miss Tabitha." said Tamera, with a nervous smile.

"Would you like something to eat Tamera?" asked queen Tabitha, smiling at Tamera's politeness.

"Daddy?" asked Tamera, as she looks up at Joseph. Joseph just nods and gives her a gentle smile. She then looks up at queen Tabitha. "Okey." she said in a quiet voice.

Queen Tabitha walks over, while king Maximilian stands up, and gently takes Tamera's hand. Then the two of them go walking off, leaving Joseph and the others to talk.

*************************

An hour later, the meeting finally comes to an end with King Maximilian offering to help in every way possible. He then calls for Queen Tabitha and Tamera to come back to the chamber. Five minutes later, both the queen and Tamera come walking into the room.  
Tamera then runs over to Joseph's waiting arms.

"What's this?" asked Joseph, as he notices that Tamera's wearing a new dress and some of her bandages have been changed while others have been taken off.

All of a sudden, there's an alarmed screech. This causes everyone in the room to turn in the direction that it came from. Merle is standing near a pillar with the servant that brought in the drinks standing directly behind her, with a rather large knife to her throat and an arm that's muscle-bound, pinning her arms to her sides.

"Nobody move. Or she gets killed." yelled the servant. He emphasises this by bringing the knife up to Merle's left ear and nicking a small piece out of it, which causes her to give a sharp yelp of pain as blood starts to dribble down from the cut.

"Who are you and what do you want?" asked Joseph, as he puts Tamera down and pulls Malisk out of his sheath, all the while carrying a furious look on his face.

"My name is Mimarouk and what I came here for is revenge." he said, glaring angerly at Joseph.

"Revenge? for what?" asked Van, stepping forward in order to distract the man while Allen tries to move to the other side of the man.

"I said no one move." he said, swinging around to face Van and brings the knife back down to Merle's throat. "I want revenge on him,"  
he nods in Joseph's direction. "For killing my brother, Dishead."

::I don't think so, pal.:: said a deep version of Joseph's voice, coming from his direction.. ::Because you have just made a very fatal mistake.::

Upon hearing the voice, everyone turns to see Joseph standing there and his feet spread out. Everyone, except for Tamera who is standing there gawking, step back in amazement when they see Joseph is floating a foot off the ground, with a slight glow in both in his eyes and around his body, and two pairs of large eagle-like wings are sprouting from his back through his ripped and torn shirt.

::Let go of the woman.:: said Joseph, even though his mouth is not moving. All of a sudden the glow goes from a yellow color to a deep,  
almost scarlet-red color. ::Your fight is with me.::

"Hahaha. Okey, I'll let her go." said Mimarouk, and a smile crosses his lips. He then brings the knife up and starts to bring it down on top of Merle's head. All of a sudden, Joseph's hand appears above Merle's head and catches the hand, at the wrist, in mid-stroke.  
"W-what the hell?" he asked, as he looks up to see Joseph standing next to him.

::I. TOLD. YOU. TO. LET. HER. GO.:: said Joseph. Then he starts to squeeze Mimarouk's wrist, which releases the knife, until there's a loud crunching sound of bones being crushed. All of the sudden the glow intensifies around Joseph's body and grows larger.

"Aaah. My hand." shrieked Mimarouk, as he releases Merle, who is now bleeding badly from her ear. "Your breaking my hand." All of a sudden, he goes down on one knee from the pain.

::I want you to understand one thing.:: said Joseph, looking down at his opponent while still holding onto his wrist. ::I killed your brother because he was attacking both me and my friends. So it was in self defence that I killed him in.::

"Y-you lie. My brother would not do such a cowardly thing as start to attack f-first." yelled Mimarouk, all the while trying to tear his hand from Joseph's tightening grasp. All of a sudden, Joseph stops squeezing.

::Oh really now.:: said Joseph, looking down as his features relax a bit. ::In that case I want you to see something that'll change your mind:  
All of a sudden, the glow in Joseph's eyes changes from red to a pale white.

All of a sudden, Mimarouk's eyes starts to glow with a white light, all the while he's mumbling to himself.

"No. Brother. Tell me it's not true." mumbles Mimarouk. All of a sudden his eyes close shut and tears start to stream down his cheeks from his eyes. He then stops glowing and collapses to the ground in a heap.

"It's true. Although I regret my actions, you must know that it was needed." said Joseph, finally talking. All of a sudden the glow dissipates and Joseph floats down to the ground with a gentle flap of his wings, which are slowly vanishing. Joseph then let's go of Mimarouk's hand which drops to the ground beside him. "I'm sorry. I really am."

After a couple of seconds, Joseph walks over to where Merle is kneeling down on the ground, covering the bleeding cut.

"Are you okey Merle?" asked Joseph, kneeling down beside Merle and reaches out with his hand to check the cut.

"Leave me alone. Please, just leave me alone." cries Merle, moving away from Joseph and turning her face so that she's not looking at him.

"Okey. If that's what you want me to do Merle. Then I'll do it because I love you with all my heart." said Joseph, as he stands up. He then turns and walks over to Tamera. "Come Tamera. It appears that we're not welcome here anymore." he said as he takes Tamera's hand.

"Yes daddy." she says and turns to the group, "Thankyou all for everything. And thankyou miss Merle for helping me out when I was hurt."  
and with that, the two of them go walking to the end of the room and out the door.

After leaving the building, Joseph puts Tamera into the side car and drives off towards the ship. Once arriving at the ship, Joseph takes Tamera to their room and starts to gather their things with tears streaming down his face. After a few minutes of packing, there's a knock on the open door which causes Joseph to stop packing and Tamera all of a sudden grows very quiet.

"Yes?" asked Joseph, without turning to the door. "Can I help you with something?"

"Joseph? are you okey?" asked Hitomi, from the door.

"I'll make it through Hitomi, some how. This is just a minor difficulty." answered Joseph, with a voice choked with pure sadness and grief.  
"Besides, I should have seen this coming. I should have realised that Merle would never treat me the same again. Even though she doesn't know it, I will love her with all my heart that I can possibly spare and I did what I did because of that." All of a sudden, Joseph collapses down onto the floor with his head on the bed and starts to cry.

A pair of foot falls start to come towards Joseph and stop and someone kneels behind him. All of a sudden, a pair of deeply tanned arms appear around Joseph's torso and start to hug him.

"She'll never know how much I love her or how much it hurt me to see her get hurt like that." cries Joseph, pouring out his grief.

All of a sudden, Joseph starts to feel something warm drip onto his back and starts to stream down. Feeling the wetness, Joseph turns around and tries to look through his tears, but to no avail. He then wipes the tears from his eyes and looks down to see that it's Merle, with her ear wrapped, that's holding onto him around the waist and crying.

"I-I never knew that you felt this way, Joseph." said Merle, looking up at Joseph as the tears fall freely from her eyes. "And I'm sorry about what happened a few minutes ago. I love you too. Can you ever forgive me?" she asked, looking up at him.

"Oh, Merle. I'm sorry too. Your forgiven, if you can forgive me. I promise that I'll never try to keep secrets from you ever again." said Joseph,  
wrapping his arms around Merle.

"Thank you, Joseph." cried Merle, as she buries her face into his chest.

After what seems to be an eternity of crying and holding each other, Merle looks at the stuff that's on the bed and then up at Joseph.

"Why is all your stuff there for Joseph?" asked Merle, getting off of Joseph and wiping the tears from her eyes.

"Because me and Tamera are leaving." said Joseph, as he gets up off of the floor and finishes gathering all of his and Tamera's items.

"But why are you leaving for Joseph? I don't want you to." cried Merle, standing up and looking at Joseph with tears streaming down her cheeks for a second time.

"It's because I caused you and the others so much pain and fear." answered Joseph, once he's done gathering the gear.

All of a sudden he walks over to where Tamera is standing, and taking her hand, he walks out the door and out past Van, Hitomi, Millerna,  
Allen and over to the Epsilon Harold. All of a sudden Allen rushes over and blocks Joseph from proceeding to the Epsilon while a pair of arms wrap themselves around him and stop him in his tracks.

"Please don't go, Joseph." cried Merle, crying again. "For me?"

"Merle's right, Joseph." said Hitomi, from the side. "We all need you here with us."

"I don't know, Merle." said Joseph, as he turns around and glances at Hitomi. He then looks down into Merle's eye's large blue eyes. "I don't want to cause you or the others anymore pain then I already have."

"Joseph, we need you. Merle needs you." said Van, coming over and putting his hand onto Joseph's shoulder, causing Joseph to look at him. "I'm sorry about what had happened. It wasn't you fault."

"Fine. I'll stay. But only on one small minor condition." said Joseph, as he looks back down at Merle.

"Which is?" asked Van, with a raised Eyebrow with a small, almost imperceptable sigh.

"You are to accept me for what I am and to treat me as an equal." Joseph said, without taking his eyes off of Merle as he raises a single finger. "Then and only then will I stay and fight with you."

"Consider it done." answered Van, after a minute of thinking it through. He then sticks out his hand for Joseph to shake.

"Thank you Van." said Joseph, looking up at Van. He then reaches out and shakes Van's hand.

End of part 3: The Arrival.  
By Rathorc Lemenger!! 


	6. Chapter 6

Attack Of The New Zaibach Part 4: The Ballroom Incident!  
By Rathorc Lemenger

(Authors note 1: Please don't sue me for any and all copyrighted characters. All other characters that are not in the original story line belong to me.)

(continued from part 3.)

"Thank you, Van." said Joseph, looking up at Van. He then reaches out and shakes Van's hand.

"Yeppy...." cried Tamera, happily jumping up and down and clapping her hands together. "We're staying..."

All of a sudden, Merle hugs him to her and starts crying tears of pure, happy joy, pressing her face into his chest while her pink hair covers the sides of her face.

"Why are you crying for now, Merle?" asked Joseph, looking down with a surprised look on his face and starts to gently stroke her hair.

"I don't know why. I'm just happy that your staying here." answered Merle, looking up at Joseph with large tearful eyes, before she digs her face back into Joseph's chest.

"Oh, Merle. You of all people should remember the promise that I made to you last night." said Joseph, in a gentle voice.

After a few minutes of talking with Merle, Joseph picks up his and Tamera's gear and goes walking back to the room and puts the stuff back into the right places. Once all the stuff away is put away, Joseph turns and see's that only him and Merle are in the room with the door shut.

"Umm, Merle. Where is everyone?" asked Joseph, looking around and then at Merle.

"Hmm?" asked Merle, looking up from what she's doing and looks at Joseph and then she looks around. "I don't honestly know, Joseph."

"I am Honestly sorry, Merle." said Joseph, walking over to Merle, while shaking his head, and puts a hand on either one of Merle's shoulders.

"About what?" asked Merle, looking up at Joseph and smiling.

"I'm sorry about not telling you about the wings." said Joseph, looking down into Merle's deep eyes. "In fact there's something that you have to know. Not only can I grow wings, but I can shape shift into a battle form."

"Really? what type of battle form?" she asked, looking up in wonder and curiousity.

::Be careful, Joseph:: said Malisk from the corner of the room. ::I don't sense anyone watching from the other side of the door.  
Even though there are people out there.::

"I will, Malisk." said Joseph, glancing over at his friend. "Don't worry."

"Who're you talking to, Joseph?" Merle asks, glancing around the room.

"I was just talking to, myself." said Joseph, giving Merle an innocent smile. "Are you ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be, Joseph." said Merle, looking back at Joseph. "But arn't you going to answer my question?"

"Fine." said Joseph, throwing his hands up into the air. "I was talking to the sword that's in the corner. It's alive and highly intelligent.  
It's name is Malisk Firestorm."

"Oh." said Merle, glancing over at the sword with a worried expression on her face.

Just then, Joseph steps back and starts to change into his battle form. Which is that of a large creature with three pairs of arms standing erect on two legs, with a canine-like head, two pairs of wings and a feline tail with feathers on the end. He also sports feathers at the end of the elbows. On the canine-like head, there's a pair of large antilope antlers in front of a pair of moose antlers, while his eyes are those of a eagle and owl combined (allowing him to see perfectly both at night and during the day), and where there are normally ears, there's two large tufts of feathers. Upon seeing Joseph in his battle mode, Merle brings her hand up to her mouth and lets out a sharp gasp.

"This is my battle form, Merle." said Joseph in his deep, scratchy voice. "Now do you understand why I kept everything hidden for so long?" And with that, Joseph shifts back into his human form.

"I-I never expected this." answered Merle, moving her hand away from her mouth.

"I know." answered Joseph, as he walks over to the window and looks out. "I can understand that you won't ever love me again. Heck, I can even understand if you don't ever want to talk to me, because your scared of me. I can feel it rippling off of you like the ripples in a pond when a rock has been thrown in."

After a minute of looking out the window, Joseph suddenly feels a pair of arms wrap themselves around his waist and a head press up against his back. Joseph turns slightly and looks down at Merle, as she's hugging him all the while looking up into his eyes with hers, which are full of love.

"Joseph. You know that no matter how you look or how you act to certain things, I will always love you for the person that you are inside." She said, smiling and full of love and happiness.

"Thank you Merle, I love you too." said Joseph, and with that, Joseph turns fully around and grabs Merle by the shoulder. Leaning down, he then kisses Merle passionantly on the lips, he then feels Merle gently kiss him back after a couple of seconds.

*Thier coming, Joseph.* said Malisk, from the corner.

"Oh, how romantic is this now?" said Hitomi from the door a minute later.

"Daddy's in looove." added Tamera, who is also by the door.

Upon hearing this, Joseph and Merle stop kissing and look towards the door to see Van, Allen, Hitomi, Tamera and Millerna standing there smiling. Tamera is just standing there with a big grin and waving her hand.

"Why you." said Joseph, letting go of Merle. Walking over, he grabs Tamera up into his arms and starts to tickle her, which causes her to laugh and shake like jelly.

"Daddy... Stop it." said Tamera, between laughs. "That tickles."

After a little while, Joseph decides to stay on the ship for the rest of the day. Much to everyone's disappointment.

"Besides, I have things to do here on the ship anyway." said Joseph, as he's standing at the bottom of the ladder on the outside of the ship with Hitomi and Tamera a little while later.

"Like what, Joseph?" asked Hitomi, glancing over at him.

"Well. First of all, I was thinking of teaching Tamera here how to read, write, count and do math." answered Joseph, looking at Hitomi while stroking Tamera's hair.

"What are those, daddy?" asked Tamera, looking up at Joseph with a cocked eyebrow.

"Well, you want to be smarter then what you are now, right?" asked Joseph, smiling down at his daughter. "And you want to be able to know things that not many people know right?"

"Yes, I do daddy." answered Tamera, as she starts to think as a carrage pulls up.

"Well, reading, writing, and counting allow you be able to do those things and more." said Joseph, with a gentle smile to Tamera as Van climbs out of the carrage.

"I think that's a great idea." said Hitomi, as she nods her head. "And if you need any help, just come and ask me."

"Hey Joseph." said Van, as he comes up to Joseph, Hitomi and Tamera. "I got some news for you."

"Yeah? What is it?" asked Joseph, turning to look at Van.

"Well, before I tell you, I need to know where Merle is." said Van, looking around. "That way I can tell you both."

"She's still on the ship." answered Joseph, pointing with his thumb to the ship. "Doing what, I don't know."

"I'll go and get her for you, Joseph." offered Hitomi, and she goes up into the ship.

A few minutes later, Hitomi and Merle come walking out. Upon seeing Van, Merle lunges at him and starts to lick him on the cheek.

"Merle. Please." said Van, trying to push her off of him. "I have something to tell you and Joseph."

"Oh?" said Merle, as she stops and looks at Van. She then let's go and walks over to stand beside Joseph.

"The king and queen have invited us to a ball, with the two of you as the guests of honour." said Van, smiling.

"W-when?" asked Joseph, with a shocked, but interested tone in his voice.

"Next week." answered Van, smilinfg a little. "They even offered to make you dresses, Merle and Tamera. But for you, Joseph,  
a proper suit will be made for you. They also have rooms for us to stay at the castle."

"Hmm, maybe I can get a zoot suit. With a top hat that had a feather ticking out of it." said Joseph, daydreaming with a rather large grin crossing his face. "Rooms too? Now that's purrrfect."

"You wish, Joseph." said Hitomi, with a chuckle as she shakes her head. "Like they would know what a Zoot suit is."

"Hitomi. Stop bugging Joseph." yells Merle, as she grabs onto Joseph's arm and stares daggers at Hitomi.

"Merle, both me and Hitomi were just joking with you and Van. You know, the type that your supposed to laugh at?"  
said Joseph, as he looks down at Merle with a wierd grin on his lips. He then looks at his friend. "Van, please tell the king and queen, the next time you see them that is, that I would be honoured by such a privilege."

"You got it, Joseph." said Van, smiling his understanding at Joseph's little joke.

"Well. Let us be off, Tamera. I want to get started teaching you right now." said Joseph, looking down at his adopted daughter.

"Where are you going, Joseph?" asked Merle, still holding onto Joseph's arm.

"Well, I'm going to teach Tamera, here, how to read, write and count. Along with some basic math." said Joseph, looking down at Merle. "You want to join us?"

"It would be my pleasure, Joseph." said Merle, and the three of them go walking back into the ship. "Who knows, even I might learn something."

"There's a first." mumbled Van, as he and Hitomi walk the other way as Hitomi bursts out into laughter.

"Yeah." said Hitomi, between laughs while she takes Van's hand in hers. "Merle wanting to actually learn something."

"I heard that Hitomi." yells Merle from behind them, causing Hitomi to grinch.

************************

That night, Joseph and Tamera are laying down on the grassy and soft ground outside in the courtyard looking up at the stars in the sky and talking. After a little while, a form appears in the lit doorway of the castle. The back lit form appears to be that of Merle.

"Joseph? Are you out there?" asks Merle, in a worried voice from the doorway.

"Yes Merle, I'm out here." answers Joseph, as he comes walking back to the castle carrying a now sleeping Tamera in his arms with Tamera's head laying on his left shoulder and her hair gently tickling his ear. "Hold the door, will ya?"

"What were you doing out there, Joseph?" she asked, holding the door open for Joseph.

"I was just talking with Tamera here, about how the stars and the planets were made." answers Joseph, coming back inside and walks towards his and Tamera's room.

"Oh." answers Merle, as she walks beside Joseph and watching him with a small smile.

"She really seems eager to learn. I don't know if it's because she's trying to impress me or if it's because she wants to know more about the world and universe around her." said Joseph, with a sigh. "She is a sweet kid though. I'm glad that I decided to take her in."

After a little while of walking, Joseph, with a sleeping Tamera in his arms, finally gets to his room. Merle opens the door for him as the three of them enter. Joseph then puts Tamera into her bed with her clothes still on and tucks her in.

"Hmm. You want to know something Merle?" asked Joseph, turning around and walks over to where Merle is sitting down near the open window. He then sits down in a chair beside her and takes her hand in his.

"What?" asked Merle, smiling up at Joseph as she gives his hand a small squeese.

"I'm one of the happiest men on this planet because I have you and Tamera here to give me all the joy that I need."  
said Joseph, as he's looking out the window and watches the guards walk the pedways on top of the walls.

"That's nice to hear coming from you, Joe." said Merle, as she lays her head on his shoulder and gives another gentle squeese to Joseph's hand. "I've got to get going. Tomarrow's an important day for the two of us." she added as she got up and went to the door.

"Why? What's tomarrow?" asked Joseph, as he also got up and walked to the door and puts one hand on the frame while trying to recall what is going on the next day.

"Well, I'm getting that dress made while your getting your suit made." she said, reaching up and putting her hands behind Joseph's neck as she runs her fingers through Joseph's hair.

"Oh yeah. Forgot about that." said Joseph, as he smiles. He then leans in and presses his forehead to Merle's. "I'll be seeing you there then?"

"I wouldn't miss it for the world." said Merle with a small smile. "But you have a small Problem though." she said,  
moving her head away slightly and looking over at where Tamera is in her bed, asleep.

"Oh, she'll be with us. I don't really feel comfortable with leaving her with anyone." said Joseph, glancing over at Tamera and then back at Merle. "I'm going to see if she'll also be getting her dress made. So I'll see you tomorrow then?"

"Yes. You'll see me tomorrow. Even though that they might have a curtain between us." said Merle, looking back at Joseph and shrugging. "Or they might do the clothes up in two seperate rooms."

"Then tomorrow it is then." said Joseph, and he leans in a kisses Merle on the lips and recieves one back. "Love you."

"I love you too Joseph." replied Merle. And with that, she opens the door and walks on out into the hall and down to her room. All the while her tail is waving behind her.

********************************

The next couple of days pass uneventfully. At the end of the week on the day of the ball, Joseph is getting ready when there's a knock on the door.

"Come in." calls Joseph, as he's putting on the last piece of clothing. He then turns towards the door.

All of sudden, the door swings open and Hitomi comes walking in wearing her ball gown. She just stands by the door and looks out into the hallway.

"What's wrong 'tomi?" asked Joseph as he's starting to come forward as he's putting on Malisk over his shoulder when all of a sudden, Tamera comes walking into the room wearing a light blue dress with red trimming. Her hair is done up in a small bun. She's smiling the whole time which causes her freckles to scruntch up onto her face.

"Hi daddy." said Tamera, as she comes shuffling over.

"Why hello there cute stuff." said Joseph, as he picks her up in his arms. "Don't you look cute this evening."

"Really daddy?" asked Tamera, looking into Joseph's eyes. "You really think that I'm cute?"

"You have always been cute to me, Tamera." answers Joseph, giving Tamera a large smile while looking into her green eyes.

"Thank you daddy." said Tamera, as she gives him a hug around the neck. After a couple of seconds, Tamera pulls away and looks up and down Joseph. "You look handsome, daddy."

"Thanks Tamera. So, 'tomi. When are we leaving?" asked Joseph, as he turns to Hitomi.

"Well, me, Millerna and Merle are going to meet you, Van, Allen, and Tamera there." answered Hitomi, with a smile.

"Aren't Merle and Millerna ready yet?" asked Joseph, raising an eyebrow. "By the way, nice dress you have there,  
'tomi."

"Nope. They're not ready yet." answered Hitomi, smiling. "And thanks."

"Geez. Must have to put a ton of make-up on." said Joseph, shaking his head as he sighs.

"No, it's not that. They're just fixing up their dresses so they'll look good." answered Hitomi, shrugging slightly. All of a sudden,  
she gives Joseph a small smile. "One thing is for sure though. When you see Merle in her dress, your jaw will drop at least ten,  
maybe even twenty inches."

"So that's why I haven't seen you ladies all afternoon." said Joseph, with a small smile on his face.

"Yep. Now, you better get going or you'll be late." said Hitomi, smiling back at her friend.

"Correction. We'll be fashoinably late." said Joseph, with a chuckle. "Could you tell Merle that she'll look good to me no matter what?"

"Sure, Joseph." said Hitomi, as her smile get's a little bit bigger.

And with that said and done, the three of them leave the room. Joseph and Tamera go down to the ball room, while Hitomi goes back to her room, where they can here music playing. Once at the entrance, the doorman announces that they have arrived and both Joseph and Tamera go walking into the ballroom, filled with people. After a couple of seconds later of waiting at the stairs, Joseph and Tamera head over to where the King and Queen are seated. Upon reaching them, Joseph bows while Tamera curtsies.

"Good evening, your majesties." said Joseph, looking up at the King and Queen.

"We are very happy that you decided to stay with us and attend this ball, Joseph." said King Maximillian, with a small,  
friendly smile. "For we were told by your sweet child, that you are the best fighter that there is, right now."

"Well, I'm just your average individual that has to do what he has to do." said Joseph, with a shrug and glancing down at Tamera, who's gently smiling. "Now if you excuse me, your majesties, both me and Tamera will go out into the crowd and socialise."

"As you wish Joseph." said the queen, smiling and waving her hand to dismiss Joseph and Tamera.

Joseph bows again, while Tamera curtsies. Then the two of them turn and go walking into the crowd, holding each others hands to keep from being split up. Once in the crowd, Joseph and Tamera start to talk to some of the other guests who seem to be interested in them. After a few minute, Joseph leads Tamera towards the wall next to the food and punch.

"So Tamera." said Joseph, as they get to the table which is stock full of delicious food. "What do you want to eat first?"

"I don't know daddy. It all looks so yummy." said Tamera, as she grabs a plate and licks her lips as she looks at all the tempting food, then she looks up at Joseph. "What are you having?"

"Hmm, let's see." he said, then he takes a plate and knife from the piles of knifes and forks. He then looks at the various meat. "Got any suggestions?"

"I wanna try that with you, daddy." said Tamera, pointing over to the roast lamb. "And then I'll try anything that your having."

"Sure. I'll cut you a piece." said Joseph, as he reaches over and cuts a large piece off. "Here you go. We'll even put some gravy on that too. Along with a large serving of patatoes"

Joseph quickly puts the food onto the plates, along with some salmon steaks. He then pours some drinks into some cups for him and Tamera.

"Lady Merle, Queen Hitomi and princess Millerna have arrived." called the doorman from the top of the stairs.

"Hmm?" asked Joseph, looking up from putting the gravy onto Tamera's roast lamb and her patatoes, and see's Merle walking down the stairs. She has her hair done up with two thick strands of pink hair falling on either side of her face, and wearing a green sea foam dress with white trimming that sets off her tanned complexion and blue eyes perfectly. Upon seeing her like that, Joseph's mouth falls open from the beautiful sight.

"Daddy?" asks Tamera, as she waves her hand in front of Joseph's face, only to recieve an empty look from her father.

"Huh? What is it Tamera?" asked Joseph, after coming too and he looks down at Tamera.

"What's wrong daddy?" asked Tamera, as she picks up her plate from the table.

"Nothing, sweety." answers Joseph and he looks back to the stairs only to find Merle gone from sight. "Damn. Well,  
might as well get a table." He adds as he grabs another plate for Merle and fills both his plate and Merle's plate with some more meat and vegitables. "Better stick close to me Tamera."

"Yes, daddy." answers Tamera, as she follows Joseph, while carfully carrying her plate and cup, to a table near a window,  
close to the King and Queen. "I know."

::Hey 'tomi. I know that you can hear me. If your near Merle, grab her and send her towards the table closest to both the window and the King and Queen. Tell her that I'm waiting there for her with Tamera.:: sent Joseph, Via his telepathy.

Once arriving at the table, Joseph puts his plate down onto the table and Merle's plate down onto the table opposite him, Tamera sits down beside Joseph as he sits and waits for Merle. After a few minutes of waiting, a hand falls onto Joseph's shoulder from behind, causing him to jump. He looks behind him and see's Merle standing there with a smile on her face.

"Oh good, your here." said Joseph, as he stands and turns to look at Merle in her beautiful dress. "You look gorgeous tonight, Merle. Not that you never looked good before."

"Why thankyou, Joseph. And if I may add, you look extremely handsome tonight." said Merle, blushing at the compliment.

"Thanks. Here, have a seat." said Joseph, as he guides her over to the other side of the table and helps her to sit down.

"Thank you Joseph." said Merle, as Joseph goes back to his side of the table and sits down. "Why did you get Hitomi to send me over here for?" she asked as she picks at her food that's on her plate.

"Well. I figured that we could spend some time together." answers Joseph, nibbling away at his food. Just then,  
Tamera's hand reaches over and grabs some vegitables from Joseph's plate with a giggle, which causes both Merle and Joseph to smile. "Just the three of us."

"Oh really now." said Merle, crossing her arms across her chest and giving Joseph a sweet smile.

After a few minutes of talking, Joseph spots Van and Hitomi go out onto the patio. A couple seconds later, Joseph hears Hitomi call out, telling Van to look out. Which is then followed by the sound of breaking glass as Van's body comes flying through the glass doors, screams from the woman and hollars from the men as they scatter from the flying body.  
Hearing the racket, Merle turns around and see's Van on the ground unconcience.

"Lord Van." cries Merle, as she gets up and runs over to the limp form of Van on the ground.

A split second later, Hitomi runs through the doors and over to van, then looks back towards the doors and out into the darkness just outside the broken doors.

"Stay here Tamera." said Joseph, as he gets up from his seat and quickly goes over to where Van is laying, out cold.  
Millerna is also there checking Van out, in order to see if he's alright.

"Yes, daddy." answered Tamera, as she sits back down looking towards where a small group is gathering around Van.

As he reaches the group that's gathering around Van, and about to say something, he catches a matalic glint out of the corner of his eye from the direction of the broken door. A split second later, Joseph has Malisk out, standing in front of the group, and is blocking a sword that was aimed at Van's neck. Joseph notices that the attacker is wearing a cloth around his head to protect his identity. The attacker steps back and tries to get past Joseph by jumping over him so he could land on top of Van and kill him in a single blow from his sword, all the while trying to grab at Hitomi. Merle, Hitomi and Millerna are trying to move Van out of the way as the rest of the people start running out of the ball room screaming and yelling.

"Not on my shift, you don't asshole." said Joseph, grabbing the attackers right leg while he's in mid-jump, and throws him back towards the hole in the door.

Upon hitting the ground, the attacker jumps up and leaps out the hole in the doors.

"Shit." said Joseph, he then starts to follow the guy. But before he goes through the doors, he turns to Allen and Merle. "Allen, you get Van out of here, now. Merle, I need you to keep an eye on Tamera for me."

Joseph then turns back and runs out through the doors, after the attacker. All of a sudden, Joseph leans back just in time before he almost loses his head to Van's attacker.

"Crap." said Joseph, as he dodges two other attacks. "Who are you?" he asked, and is only met with silence from the attacker.

The attacker holds his sword out in front of him and starts to circle around Joseph, which causes him to turn and start to move as the attacker moves and trying to keep him/her in front of him at all times. All of a sudden the attacker silently and swiftly charges at Joseph, with his sword aimed straight at Joseph's heart and is blocked by Malisk. A split second later a left knee comes up and nails Joseph in the ribs, breaking two of them while cracking a third. Once landing on the ground, the attacker swings his sword at an angle, hitting Joseph's leg and slices through almost to the bone.

"Nnng." said Joseph as he jumps back from the attacker and almost collapsing to the ground because of his leg. (This guy's good.) thought Joseph (too good.) and holding his ribs while being careful with his leg.

Not even a second later, the attacker is up in the air and comes down, hitting Joseph in the head with the hilt of his sword. The hit causes Joseph to stumble back a couple of paces and Joseph brings his hand to his head. A second of feeling the area, Joseph brings his hand down to find a bit of blood on his fingers from the area. The attacker then lunges again with his sword aimed at Joseph's neck and is met this time by Malisk. The attacker then swerves and slashes, catching Joseph on the arm and cutting him a little through the flesh and muscle and striking the bone.

"Why you." said Joseph, as he feels himself getting angry and as he does his whole body starts to glow with a dim red light. "You have just made a very bad mistake, pal. You should know that you now face the awsome power that I, Joseph Jason Edwin, posses." he said as he takes a step forward, dropping Malisk, as the glow grows in strength,  
and brings his hands to his left side and turns his palms towards his opponent. "Kamatchimos Strike.(*)" yells Joseph as he thrusts his hands forward, sending a wide beam of reddish energy towards the attacker as he's jumping into the air in order to finish Joseph off.

Once the beam hits the attacker, it burns a hole straight through his chest and kills him instantly and with a slight sizzle of energy from both the wound and the beam. Joseph then turns, picks up Malisk from the ground, and stumbles in through the now empty ballroom, dragging his leg, all the while he has his arm across his chest, in order to keep his ribs in place. He's also bleeding pretty badly onto the clean floor from the cut on his arm and the bruise on his head. He heads straight to the door and out into the hallway. Once he's steps out into the hall, he's met by Allen, Millerna and Tamera.

"Joseph." said Millerna, as she rushes over with a bag. "Your hurt."

"I'm fine Millerna." said Joseph, stumbling forward from the pain, as darkness starts to creep into the edges of his vision. "I'll survive."

"Your in pain, Joseph." she said, as she tries to check Joseph's ribs.

"Daddy... Your hurt..." said Tamera, running up to Joseph with tears streaming down her cheeks.

"I'm okey Tamera. I'll be fi...." but before Joseph can finish what he was about to say, the darkness fully engulfs him and he could feel himself fall forward.

As he's falling, Joseph hears Tamera give a small shreak of fear and he could feel someone catch him.

************************

After what feels like only a couple of minutes, Joseph wakes up up to find that he's been bandaged up. After blinking a couple of times, he looks around to see that it's morning and see's Merle asleep, in her dress from the night before, in a chair nearby and Tamera sleeping, also in her dress from the night before but it's speckled a little with blood, beside him with her head on his good shoulder. The arm that was slashed, has been bandaged and done up in a sling, along with the deep cut on his leg.

"Hmm." he said, as he starts to stroke Tamera's messed up hair. As he watchs Tamera, he notices that her eyes are red from crying.

Slowly, Joseph uses his telekinesis and lifts Tamera's head up off his shoulder. He then moves out of the way and lowers Tamera's head back down onto the bed. A couple of seconds later, Joseph climbs out of the bed, making sure to test his leg to see if it'll hold his wieght, and looks down and see's that he's wearing his shorts and t-shirt that he had on under his suit, which causes him to smile. He could feel some bandages under his shirt where his ribs were broken.

He then walks over, gasping in pain, as quietly as possible for him with the busted leg, and grabs the top sheet from Tamera's bed and walks over to Merle with it. He then puts the blanket gently over Merle to keep her warm, which brings a small smile to him and makes him feel good inside. A couple of seconds later, he walks over to the door and opens it to reveal two guards standing on either side of the door. Upon hearing the door open, the two guards turn and look at Joseph.

"Morning gentlemen." said Joseph, smiling. "Nice day today."

"Yes sir." said one of the guards, looking at Joseph as a worried look crosses his face.

"Care to tell me how long you two been here?" asked Joseph, looking from one to the other.

"We've been posted here for the last six hours, sir" said the second guard.

"Well, I got an idea. What I'll do is that when I get back from using the bathroom, I'll let you guys go and see your families. or your lovers, which ever you might have." said Joseph, with a gentle smile of compassion. "And if anyone asks why your not at your post, tell them that I said you could. Does that sound fair to you?"

"Sir. Yes sir." said both guards, as brief smiles flash across thier faces.

"Good." said Joseph, as he limps away towards the bathroom.

After being gone for ten minutes, Joseph comes back and finds Millerna waiting there for him next to the door.

"There you are, Joseph." said Millerna, upon seeing Joseph coming up to the doorway with a serious and stern look on her face. "You should be in bed."

"Sorry Millerna. But I needed to drain my bladder and get a drink." said Joseph, wearing a small smile on his face.

All of a sudden they hear a slight thump from his room and a small pair of feet run across the floor, and then they hear Tamera's voice.

"Miss Merle.... Wake up." cried Tamera, with fear in her voice. "Daddy's gone."

"Hmm?" asks Merle, in a sleepy voice. Then there's the sound of a chair scrapping across the floor. "What? Joseph's gone?"

"No I'm not." said Joseph, opening the door and limping in. "I'm right here."

All of a sudden, Tamera is over by Joseph and throws her arms around his waist, sending a jolt of pain through his body and crying crocidile tears.

"Tamera." said Joseph, as he steps back and kneels down in front of her. "Why are you crying for?" he asked,  
wiping away Tamera's tears.

"I-it's just that I thought that you left me, daddy." said Tamera between tears, she then throws her arms around Joseph's neck and putting her face into his good shoulder. "I was so scared for you daddy."

"You don't really have to worry sweetheart." said Joseph, wrapping his good arm around Tamera to reasure her.  
"You know that I would never leave you if I could help it."

Just then, Merle appears beside Joseph and kneels down.

"I'll leave you three alone for a little while Joseph." said Millerna, as she shuts the door and leaves Joseph, Merle, and Tamera alone in the room.

"I'm sorry that I scared you both last night." said Joseph, turning to Merle and see's her crying. He then reaches out and starts to wipe the tears away.

"Th-that's okey Joseph." said Merle, trying to smile but with little success, while leaning into Joseph's hand. All of a sudden, she leans in and starts to kiss Joseph tenderly on the lips, with tears streaming down her cheek. After a few minutes, Merle pulls away and looks at Joseph. "I love you, Joseph. I don't want you to ever scare us like that again. You got me?"

"I love you too, Merle." replies Joseph, smiling at his two favorite women. "Now, can I get you two to do me a big favor?"

"Okey, daddy." said Tamera, smiling at her father. "What is it?"

"Help me up please?" asked Joseph, with a chuckle. "My legs are asleep. Particularly my busted leg."

"Yeah. No problem, Joseph." said Merle, as she and Tamera help Joseph up onto his feet.

"Now Tamera. I need you to go open the door tell millerna that I'm ready." he said, turning to Tamera as he's going over to the bed and sits down under the blankets. "She seemed a little mad that I left to use the toilet."

"Yes, daddy." said Tamera, as she walks over to the door and opens it. "Daddy is ready, miss Millerna."

"Thankyou Tamera." said Millerna, as she comes into the room, carrying a bag.

"Your welcome, miss Millerna." said Tamera, and she comes over and sits down on the bed beside down beside Joseph. All the while she's smiling.

"Thanks, sweety." said Joseph, and gives Tamera a gentle kiss on the cheek.

All Tamera can do is cuddle into Joseph while she wraps her arms around Joseph's waist while being careful of his broken ribs.

"How do you feel, Joseph?" asked Millerna, as she takes some bandages out of her bag.

"Well, I feel better then what I probably look." said Joseph, smiling at Millerna. "I'm just happy that I can muffle the pain."

"Hmm. You are pretty banged up, Joseph. But yours and Van's attacker was not so lucky. But like you said last night,  
You'll survive." said Millerna, as she starts to replace the bandages on Joseph's arm.

"Hmm. Let me take a swing on the ol' guess-a-tron: he's dead." said Joseph. "But I really can't complain though."

"Why would you need to complain for?" asked Millerna as she finish's on his arm and motions to Tamera to scoot over so she can replace the bandages on his ripcage.

"Well, I got both Tamera and Merle to help me through this." said Joseph, as he looks towards Merle and see's her blushing as Tamera moves out of the way for Millerna. "They're the best nurses I could ask for."

"True enough." said Millerna, with a small smile.

"And your probably the best doctor this side of Gea." added Joseph, looking at Millerna and see's her smile.

"Thanks Joseph, I think." said Millerna, blushing a little as she finishes up replacing the bandages on his ribs and starts to work on his leg.

"Well, I got respect for you Millerna. Even if you are a princess." said Joseph, glancing over at Merle as she's giving him one of those 'do and die' looks.

"For now, just get your rest Joseph and get healed up." said Millerna, as she grabs her things and looks at Merle and Tamera. "Ladies, maybe we should leave and give Joseph some time to rest and get healed."

"Your right Millerna." said Merle, nodding in agreement and getting up. "Come on Tamera." added Merle as she puts one of her hands out for Tamera to take hold of.

"Okey, miss Merle." said Tamera, getting off the bed and carefully gives Joseph a hug around the neck. "I love you daddy."

"I love you too Tamera, you be a good girl for Merle." said Joseph, giving Tamera a hug back.

"I will daddy, for you." said Tamera, as she takes Merle's hand and goes walking out of the room with Merle followed by Millerna.

Once they leave, Joseph lays down and falls into a deep and restful sleep.

End of Part 4 By Rathorc Lemenger!!

(Authors note 1) pronounced Ka-Matchy-Mos strike. It's a strong energy attack, similar to the Kamehamaha of DBZ fame. 


	7. Chapter 7

Attack Of The New ZaibachPart 5: The Proposal By Rathorc Lemenger

(Authors note 1: Please don't sue me for any and all copyrighted characters. All other characters that are not in the original story line belong to me.)

That night, Joseph is awaken by the slight click of a door closing and some foot steps from two people trying to be as quiet as possible. After a couple of seconds, he opens one eye slightly and sees that it's Merle and Tamera who are sneaking about. The two of them are over at Tamera's dresser, getting some clothes out. Seeing this, he just smiles and opens both eyes to get a better look. As he watches, he see's that there's no one else in the room. He then uses one of his powers to levitate himself out of his bed and float silently over behind them.

"You" said Joseph, scaring both Merle and Tamera and making them jump into the air. "do know that you both could be a little more quiet when there's a person sleeping here right?"

"Joseph." said Merle, turning on her heels and hitting Joseph on his good arm. "You know not to sneak up on people in the darkness and scaring them."

"Yeah, daddy." said Tamera, turning around and giving her father the sternest of looks. "You know better then that."

"Not my fault that you were sneaking around here as if you were trying to steal something. Other then my heart of course." said Joseph, with a small smile as he looks down at Tamera and lands. "Where do you think your going young lady?"

"I'm going to stay with miss Merle." she answered, making fists and putting them onto her hips.

"I thought that you were going to stay with me?" he asked, pretending to sound shocked at this information.

"Joseph. Your hurt." said Merle, stepping in between the two of them. "You can't very well take care of her all by yourself."

"Well, I can if you help me out some, Merle. Then I can do it. Please???" Asked Joseph, giving Merle big anime-ish puppy dog eyes.

"Yeah. Please???" asked Tamera, coming and standing beside Joseph and also gives Merle big anime-ish puppy dog eyes.

"Oh all right." said Merle, as she looks up at Joseph, then down at Tamera and laughs. "But only since you asked so politely."

"I knew that that would get you Merle." said Joseph, with a gentle laugh. "I always knew that the power of the puppy eyes would work. Always do."

"Well, I'd better leave you two alone so you can sleep." said Merle, as she gently hits Joseph in his good arm again.  
"Talk to you tomorrow."

And with that, Merle leaves the room as Joseph helps Tamera switch over to one of his shirts that she's using as her p.j.'s.

"You want to know something daddy?" said Tamera, as she climbs into her bed.

"What?" asked Joseph, as he sits down beside Tamera.

"I think that you should get married." she said, as she lays her head down on her pillow and slowly starts to close her eyes.

"Got anyone in particular in mind?" he asked as he brushes a hair out of her face and smiles down at her.

"Yeah...*yawn* maybe miss Merle." said Tamera, and sleep finally over takes her.

"We'll have to see." said Joseph, as he gently leans in and gives Tamera a gentle kiss on the forehead. "We'll see."

He then gets off of Tamera's bed and walks over to his bed, he sits down and looks over at where Malisk is leaning against the wall.

::Hey Malisk, when you gave me those powers. Did you make sure to give me the power to regenerate any broken bones?:: asked Joseph, moving under the covers.

::Well yes. I did give you minor regenerative powers. But nothing that extensive. The only other thing that you can do in cases like that is for you to use your telekinesis to straighten the bones and then use the regenerative power.  
But you can't regenerate lost limbs or organs.:: said Malisk.

::No harm in asking, right?::said Joseph, shrugging.

::Right.:: said Malisk, sounding amused.

Joseph then lays down in his bed and he uses his telekinesis to fix his ribs by attaching the two pieces of ribs together with a slight, painful crack, then engages his regenerative powers. He then closes his eyes and falls asleep fairly quickly from the pain.

***************************

The next day, when Joseph wakes up. He finds Tamera asleep beside him again, with her head on his good shoulder and her face nudged up against his neck as she takes in small breath's as she sleeps. After laying there,  
and stroking Tamera's hair in a calm and gentle way, there's a gentle knock on his door.

"Come in." said Joseph, in a low hushed voice.

All of a sudden the door swings open and Hitomi steps in carrying a tray with three bowls, followed by Merle who's holding a vase for drinks and three cups. Hitomi and Merle then look over to Joseph's bed to see Tamera asleep on Joseph's shoulder, which causes them both to smile. Merle starts to put the three cups down and pours some juice into each, then sits down.

"Must have climbed in while I was asleep." said Joseph, in a small whisper and a gentle smile. "Didn't even feel her climb in."

"Well, you better wake her up since it's time for breakfast." said Hitomi, putting the tray down on the table and putting the bowls in front of each of the three chairs. "If you'll excuse me now, I gotta get going."

"Aren't you staying for breakfast, 'tomi?" asked Joseph, looking at Hitomi with a cocked eyebrow as she walks over to the door.

"Already ate with Van. Thanks for asking, though." she said, with a small smile and blushing as she leaves.

"Tamera." said Joseph, as he gently shakes her awake and waves at Hitomi as she leaves.

"Hmm?" said Tamera as she blinks her eyes open, and looks up at Joseph with sleep filled eyes. "Yes, daddy?"

"Time to get up for breakfast." he said, as Tamera sits up and looks around while nodding her head.

"Hi, miss Merle." she said, waving at Merle with a sleepy smile on her face.

"Hello Tamera." said Merle, giving Tamera a smile.

After a couple of seconds of wiping the sleep out of her eyes with her fists, Tamera climbs over Joseph and walks over to the table. A couple of seconds, Joseph gets up out of bed and walks over to the table with a slight hop to his step and sits down.

"I take it that you feel better, Joseph?" asked Merle, looking at Joseph as she watches him.

"Much better." answered Joseph, in between mouthfuls. "As it turns out, all I needed was a good long sleep."

"How come I have a feeling that that's not the whole truth, daddy?" asked Tamera, as she glances up at Joseph from under her eyelashes. "You were hurt really badly."

"Oh. It's the truth, all right." responds Joseph, he then mumbles something about it not being a little of the truth.  
"Now finish your food, so you can go outside and play."

"Okey daddy." answered Tamera, as she finishes her food, getting up, she runs behind her hanging blanket to get changed.

"Hey, Joseph." said Merle, as she finishing her food that she brought.

"Yeah, Merle?" asked Joseph, looking over at Merle. "What is it?"

"I've been meaning to ask you. Why do you have that blanket across there for?" she asked, looking over at Joseph and pointing at the blanket.

"Oh that." answered Joseph, looking over at the blanket. "It's for Tamera. I figured that as she grows up, she'll need her own private place to change in without me seeing her."

"Oh." is all Merle can say for now as she glances over at the blanket.

A few minutes later, as Joseph and Merle continue thier talk, Tamera comes walking out in a nice blue and white dress that sets her eyes off almost perfactly.

"Now that dress, is the best one that I seen you in yet. Now turn around so I can see what it looks like on you from all sides." said Joseph, with a gentle smile.

"Thankyou daddy." said Tamera, blushing as she turns around to show it off.

"Now. You can go outside and play to your little hearts contentment." said Joseph, getting up from his chair. "But stay close to the building unless your with Hitomi, Merle, or any of the others."

"Yes daddy." said Tamera, as she skips over to the door, opens it, then skips out as she closes the door behind her.

All of a sudden, the door opens again, and Millerna walks into the room with her doctors bag. Upon seeing Millerna, Merle gets up and heads out the door with a gentle smile at Joseph.

"So how do you feel today, Joseph?" she asked, as she puts her bag down on the table.

"Better then I did yesterday." replied Joseph, as he sits back down in his chair. "And not as good as tomarrow, but who's keeping track."

"Really?" asked Millerna, unwrapping his ribs, then rewrapping them. She then takes Joseph's hurt arm and starts to unwrap the bandages.

"Yeah. It's pretty amazing what a little sleep can do for you." said Joseph, as he looks out the window and see's clouds floating by.

"What on gea?" said Millerna, in amasement as she finishes unwrapping the bandages.

"What's wrong Millerna?" asked Joseph, as he turns and looks up at Millerna.

"Y-your arm." she answered, taking a step back.

"Hmm?" said Joseph, looking down at his arm that's it mostly healed, leaving a crusty scab. "Damn. I knew that I was a fast healer but this is ridiculous."

"No wonder you feel so much better, Joseph." said Millerna, coming back over with a worried look on her face.  
"You better make sure not to pick at that scab. Otherwise you'll get a nasty scar. At least now you don't have to wear the sling anymore. Now let's take a look at that leg."

After a few minute both Millerna and Joseph are surprised to find that the leg is in the same condition as his arm is in.  
All Millerna can do is look at Joseph in utter amasement.

"That's good news. I guess that that means that I can go outside then," said Joseph, getting up out of his chair and walks over to his dresser, and takes out one of his long sleeved shirts. "and relax some."

"Yes it does, Joseph." answered Millerna, shaking her head in order to clear it as she starts to put her things away while blushing. She then stops and looks at Joseph with a smile on her lips. "It's the doctors orders. Just be careful on how you move around."

"What are you doing today, Millerna?" asked Joseph, grabbing a pair of pants from his dresser drawer and puts both his pants and his shirt onto his bed.

"I'm staying around here. Why?" she asked, looking over at Joseph.

"Well. It's just that Tamera needs new clothes for travelling and for playing in." he said, as he looks over at Millerna with a smile. "And where as your a woman and everything, I was hoping that you could help me with getting her some. I got the money for it. Normally I'd ask Merle but it seems that she'd probably go for something light and open, knowing her. But, just so she doesn't get mad, I'll invite Merle to come along."

"I would be honoured, Joseph." answered Millerna, gently smiling as she goes back to putting the stuff away.

"Thanks. Now if you'll excuse me Millerna. I have to get changed." he said, smiling back at her.

"I'll come back in a few minutes, then we'll go." she said as she walks to the door, opens it, and then steps out,  
while shutting it behind her.

Once Millerna's gone, Joseph starts to get changed. Two minutes later, when done getting changed, Joseph hears a slight creak from the ledge above his window, while fixing his shirt while looking into the mirror.

"So. You enjoying the sights, Merle?" he asked, without turning around knowing that Merle's hidden over by the window, but on the outside of it.

Just then, there's a small thump on the floor, followed by someone running across the floor on all fours. A couple of seconds later, a pair of tanned arms with stripes wrap around his chest from under his arms.

"How did you know that it was me, Joseph?" asked Merle, gently giving Joseph a playful lick on the cheek, then puts her chin on his shoulder.

"I know you too well, Merle." he answered, as he tilts his head towards her as a smile crosses his lips. "Plus, I'm psycic. You want to Join me, Millerna, and Tamera today?"

"Where are you three going?" she asks, as she licks him again.

"We're going shopping for new clothes for Tamera." he answers, as he grabs his belt and carefully puts it between him and Merle, while he's careful not to touch Merle in any sensitive areas.

"Why do you need Millerna for?" asks Merle, with a frustrated tone in her voice. "You could have just asked me be the one to go with you. Just the three of us alone."

"It's not that I don't trust you, Merle." Joseph said, as he turns to face Merle. "It's just that you'd choose something loose probably. Besides, I need someone who knows enough of clothes for girls then I do with me. It's just that I don't quit know what to look for. Not to mention that I will need you there for a second opinion."

"Okey. I'll come with you." said Merle, putting her hands behind Joseph's head. "But on only on one condition."

"Here we go. I should've known that there'd be a condition." said Joseph, looking down at Merle. "What is it?"

"You trust my judgement is all I ask." answers Merle, batting her eyelashes at him.

"I always trust your judgement Merle. There's one little thing: no open, breezy dresses for my daughter to wear."  
said Joseph, with a stern look on his face.

"Understandable." said Merle, then she stands on her tiptoes and kisses Joseph on the lips for a full minute, then pulls away. "When do we go?"

"Once Millerna gets back." answers Joseph, smiling as his cheeks turn a slight red. All of a sudden, there's a knock on his door. "And that should be her now."

Joseph walks over to the door, and opens it to reveal Millerna standing there with a smile on her face.

"Are you ready, Joseph?" she asked, looking at Joseph. A couple of seconds later, she looks past him and see's Merle standing there. "Oh. Hello Merle. I didn't see you there."

"I know." she answers, as she walks up and takes Joseph's good arm.

"Well ladies. Shall we go and gather Tamera, then start the shopping?" asks Joseph and receives nods from them.  
"Then, as a great wise man once said: 'Let us proceed with great haste to our steps and happiness in our hearts and souls.'"

A few minutes later, Joseph, Merle, and Millerna walk through the doors leading outside into the bright sunshine.

"Now where is she?" asked Joseph, as he looks around. After a couple of seconds of looking, he see's Tamera sitting over at the water fountain as she talks with some other children. He then starts to walk towards her.  
"Tamera." he calls out.

"Huh?" said Tamera, looking towards Joseph. When she realises that it's him, she gets up and runs over to him.  
"Daddy."

"Hey there, kiddo." said Joseph, as he kneels down on one knee as Tamera reaches him and hugs him around the neck. Merle just stands there and tilts her head to the left and looks down at the two of them. "You busy?" he asks when Tamera pulls away.

"No. Not really daddy. I was just talking to my new friends." She answers, and starts to tug on Joseph's hand and leads him over to the fountain, followed by Merle and Millerna. "Come on daddy. I want you to meet them."

"Whoa. Slow down, Tamera. I'm going as quick as my Lil ol' legs will carry me." said Joseph, trying to keep up and laughing the whole time.

"These are my new friends, daddy." said Tamera, as she introduces him to her friends. He then receives waves from all the kids and gives each of them a nod of the head.

"Okey Tamera. Now that you introduced me to your friends. Me, you, Merle and Millerna have a lot of things to do."  
said Joseph, scuffing Tamera's hair. He then guides her out into the city.

"What are we going to do daddy?" asked Tamera, with a curious tone in her voice.

"We're going to get you new clothes." answered Joseph, smiling down at his daughter.

"Oh. But I don't need any new clothes daddy." said Tamera, grabbing one of Joseph's hands while Merle takes his other.

"Yes you do for playing and other things, Tamera." said Joseph, smiling down at her. "Besides it's better safe then sorry."

"Okey daddy." agreed Tamera, smiling a sweet smile up at him.

**************************

That night, upon returning to the room. Joseph and Tamera start unpacking their new clothes, with help from Merle.  
Merle then goes to the side while Tamera is getting changed into her new pajamas.

"Joseph. Did today feel a little strange to you?" asked Merle, looking over at him with a confused look on her face.

"The air felt a little strange, if that's what you mean." answered Joseph, looking up at the ceiling. He then shrugs slightly. "Like it was going to rain oor something. But other then that, today felt fine."

"Besides that. I mean did you get the distinct feeling that something is going to happen?" she asked, as she bends down behind the curtain to help Tamera.

"Nope. Can't say that I did, Merle. Why?" asked Joseph, with a raised eyebrow as he watches Merle straighten up again.

"I'd just thought that I would ask. It seems to me that everybody is acting a little strange." answered Merle, as she looks down at the ground while Joseph turns around and puts some of the clothes into one of the drawers.

"How do I look daddy?" asked Tamera, from behind him.

"Hmm?" asked Joseph, as he turns around and see's Tamera wearing a long night gown that fits her little frame perfectly which causes him to smile at her. "That looks good on you Tamera. Now climb into bed and go to sleep."

"Yes daddy." answers Tamera, smiling at the compliment as she walks over to her bed and climbs into it. "Good night daddy. Good night miss Merle."

"Good night Tamera. And remember that you have a busy day tomorrow." said Joseph, and gives Tamera a smile,  
then turns around and looks back at Merle. "Well. It's getting pretty late, Merle."

"Oh and daddy??" asked Tamera, as she's climbing into her bed.

"Yes, Tamera???" asked Joseph, looking over at Tamera with a smile on his face.

"Thankyou for buying supper for us." said Tamera, as she lays down onto her bed and pulls the blankets up under her chin.

"Your welcome, sweety." said Joseph, smiling some more. He then turns and looks back at Merle. "Like I said a minute ago, Merle. "

"Yes. Your right Joseph. I'll see you both in the morning." said Merle, and gives Joseph a kiss on the cheek. She then turns and walks out the door and down towards her room.

"Yeah. See you then Merle." calls out Joseph, as he closes the door and goes to bed, only to fall asleep a half hour later.

*********************

The next morning, Joseph wakes up to a slight weight on his bed. He opens his eyes a crack and see's that it's Tamera, who's climbing into the bed and under the covers as her nightgown brushes past Joseph's leg, then cuddles into Joseph's chest.

"Cozy Tamera?" asks Joseph, causing Tamera to start.

"Yes daddy." answers Tamera, as she cuddles more into Joseph's chest and falls back asleep.

"I wonder what today is?" asks Joseph, as he checks his watch and finds that it's February 14. "Damn, it's Valentines day.... Well, I think that I know what to do."

::Hey Joseph. If you don't mind me asking. What in the world is a 'Valentines day'?:: asks Malisk, from where he's proped up.

::It's a special day that we celebrate back on earth by giving the opposite sex gifts like: flowers, chocolates or other things.:: answered Joseph, as he wipes the sweat, caused from Tamera's body heat, off of himself.

::You people are weird.:: said Malisk, with a sigh.

::Sometimes we are. But only when in love.:: agreed Joseph, smiling.

A few minutes later, Joseph contacts both Van and Allen through thier dreams (shivering at the sight of Allen's dream), telling them to meet him in his room at noon.

********************

Later that day, there's a solid knock Joseph's door causing him to look up from what he's doing.

"Come in." he calls out, and looking over to the door.

"You wanted to see us Joseph?" asked Allen, walking into the room and is followed by Van.

"Yes, I did." answered Joseph, standing up. "I was thinking that we should do something special for our ladies today."

"Like what? But before you answer, where's Tamera?" asked Allen, looking around.

"She's outside with her friends. Now have a seat so we can talk." answered Joseph, and nods to the two extra chairs. Once Van and Allen are seated, Joseph tells them what he was thinking of doing for Merle and Tamera, he then suggests that they should do something nice for Hitomi and Millerna. "But it's just an idea on how to make them happy. Which in turn will probably make us happy."

"Not a bad idea, Joseph." said Van, turning back from looking out the window to look at Joseph.

"Hmm. I think that it's a pretty sound idea, Joseph." said Allen, while he's sitting across from Joseph. "I think we should do it."

*******************

That evening, Joseph, Van, and Allen are relaxing at the fountain, when they hear four cries of surprise.

"Sounds like they found the things we left in their rooms." said Joseph, sitting on the rim of the fountain while looking up at the clouds passing by.

"It seems that your right, Joseph." said Allen, with one foot on the rim of the fountain as he looks up to where Milerna's room.

"How long do you think that it will take them to figure out that it was us?" asked Van, as he leans against a nearby tree.

"Oh, I'd say about...." Joseph then looks at his watch. "Two minutes for Tamera. Maybe less."

"What do you mean Joseph?" asks Van, looking over at Joseph.

"Well. I've been telling her stories about fictional detectives. It seems that her favourites are Sherlock Holmes and Colombo." answered Joseph, looking over at the doorway with a small smile.

"I'm not going to ask." said Allen, shaking his head.

Just then, Tamera comes running out of the building carrying a toy teddy in her arms and a deep red rose in her left hand. After a couple of seconds of searching, Tamera see's Joseph and runs over to him. When she finally reaches Joseph and stops in front of him.

"Did you get me these daddy?" she asked, looking up at Joseph with big, round eyes and holding the bear closer to her.

"I sure did, sweety." answered Joseph, smiling down at his daughter. "Do you like them?"

"I love them. Thankyou daddy. Your the best daddy that I could ever have." she said, as she jumps at Joseph,  
nearly sending them both into the fountain, and hugs him as hard as she can without hurting him.

"Your welcome Tamera, I knew that you would love them." said Joseph, hugging her back.

Just then, Joseph and Tamera hear two other voices which causes them to look over at Van and Allen, who are being thanked by Millerna and Hitomi. Joseph just looks around for Merle and see's her standing to the side,  
wearing the beautiful diamond necklace and holding the dosen roses that he got for her, while looking down at Joseph hugging Tamera.

"Hello there Merle."said Joseph, smiling at Merle as he shifts Tamera to one side. As he looks up at Merle, he see's that she's carrying the dozen roses that he got her and tears running down her cheek while looking right at him.  
"What's wrong with you Merle? Don't you like them?"

"Yeah. What's wrong miss Merle?" asked Tamera as she climbs down off the fountain and walks over to Merle.  
Upon reaching Merle, Tamera gently puts her hand into Merle's hand and leads her over to Joseph.

"Th-thank you Joseph. I l-love you." is all Merle can say before she runs and hugs Joseph around the neck and pressing her cheek to his. All the while, sobbing into Joseph's shoulder.

"Oh, Merle..." said Joseph, rubbing Merle's back. "Please don't cry. I did it because my love for you runs deeper then the roots of the most beautiful and ancient cherry tree. I also love Tamera as my daughter of course."

"Daddy's right, miss Merle." agreed Tamera, as she wraps her arms around both Merle and Joseph, and hugging them.

"Oh Joseph, please forgive me." said Merle, taking her head off of his shoulder.

"Forgive you for what?" he asked, as he puts two fingers under Merle's chin and turns Merle so she can look at him. "There's nothing to forgive for loving someone."

"I didn't know how much you loved me, for sure, until today. I thought that...." all of a sudden she starts to cry even more, as her words are lost to tears.

"Merle. No matter what, I'll always love you. Your the only one for me." said Joseph, as he looks into her eyes.  
After a minute, Joseph leans in and kisses her fully on the lips.

********************************

That night, Merle, Joseph, and Tamera are sitting out on the patio, off of the room that Joseph and Tamera share,  
looking up at the stars and talking. Merle and Tamera are leaning against a seperate shoulder.

"Lately, I'm glad that I was brought here." said Joseph, as he slings his arms around both Merle's and Tamera's shoulders.

"Why's that Joseph?" asked Merle, shifting her head so that she can look up at him.

"Well, if I wasn't brought here then I wouldn't have met you Merle and fallen head over heels for you. Also I wouldn't have been there to protect you, Tamera, from all the evils in the universe." answered Joseph, as he looks down at the two of them and smiling.

"Oh daddy. Your so nice." answered Tamera, looking up at her father and gives him a big smile.

"Besides your the only two women for me at the moment, that I truly love with all my heart." said Joseph and recieves kisses on the cheeks from both Merle and Tamera.

"I love you too, Joseph. And I also love you, Tamera of course. I want to become closer to both of you." answers Merle, looking from Joseph to Tamera and gives them both a smile.

Later that night, Joseph wakes up while leaning against the wall. He looks down and see's that both Merle and Tamera are also asleep, all the while breathing in time with one another.

"Hmm. Maybe I should put them to bed." whispered Joseph, stroking the hair of his two favorite women. All of a sudden, Joseph hears a small sigh of happiness from a balcony nearby. "Who's there?" he calls out in a sharp whisper.

"Just me and Van, Joseph." Hitomi calls back in a whisper.

"Umm, Van. I realise that your probably busy with Hitomi and everything, but can you come over here and help me?" asked Joseph, as he feels his shoulders falling asleep.

"Why? What's wrong?" he asked, from his belcony in a concerned voice.

"Well, I need help with both Merle and Tamera because they're both asleep one either shoulder. They're basically putting both my shoulders and arms to sleep." answered Joseph, sounding a little nervous.

"Oh. Now I understand." said Van, with a small laugh. "I'll be right over."

"Thanks Van." calls out Joseph, smiling slightly.

"Joseph?" Hitomi whispered over from hers and Vans belcony.

"Yeah, Hitomi? What is it?" Joseph asked, looking in Hitomi's direction.

"You okey???" said Hitomi, with a slight smile to her voice.

"Perfactly fine, Hitomi." said Joseph, chuckling to himself.

About two minutes later, Van comes walking out onto the deck wearing his usual pair of brown pants and red shirt with a slight bulge in his pants, giving Joseph a clue as to what Van and Hitomi were doing.

"So you need some help, Joseph?" he asked, looking down at the three of them.

"That would be really good right about now." said Joseph, being careful not to wake Merle and Tamera up.

After a couple of seconds later, Van picks up Merle while Joseph picks up Tamera. Joseph then leads Van into the room and uses his telepathy to tell him to lay Merle on his bed, only to recieve a dirty look from him.

::Don't worry Van. I'll be sleeping on the chair over there. Not to mention that you should know me better then that by now.:: said Joseph, while he puts Tamera down into her bed and nods towards one of the chairs nearby.  
::Besides, we could put Merle into Tamera's bed. But it's kind of small for the two of them. And Merle probably won't like being away from here tonight. So just go ahead and put her in my bed.::

"Well, I guess your right about that, Joseph." agreed Van, nodding in agreement as he does as Joseph suggested.

::Don't worry Van. I'm not stupid enough to do anything of that sort.:: said Joseph, tucking the blanket under Tamera's chin as he glances over at Van with a small knowing glint in his eyes.

"Since you don't need me any more Joseph. I'm going back over to Hitomi." Van said, looking at Joseph with a slight sparkle in his eyes.

::Have fun Van. Looks like you need it.:: smiled Joseph, as he leads Van over to the door. ::And thanks again for everything.::

"My pleasure Joseph. Besides, your one of the best people that I have on my side." said Van, walking out the door and leaving Joseph in the room with Merle and Tamera on the beds.

That night, Joseph has a semi-restful sleep in the chair.

*****************************************

The next morning, Joseph's out in the courtyard practicing his martial arts at a relaxed pace. After a few minutes of practicing, his movements are getting quicker and more smoother. After each movement, there's a small streak of colored light, followed by the smell of roses. He gets so wrapped up in his workout that he doesn't notice that he's drawing a fair-sized crowd of children and adults. All of a sudden there's a shout of surprise which causes Joseph to come to the present and notices the crowd of people that's gathered.

"Wha...?" asked Joseph, looking around he see's the cause of the disturbance. The guards are breaking up the gathering of people.

"Are you Joseph, sir?" asked one of the guards, as he walks up to him.

"Yeah. That would be me." answered Joseph, nodding his head in agreement. "What do you want?"

"King Maximillian wishes to talk to you." answered the guard, nodding his head. "If you will just follow me." added the guard, as he starts to walk towards the main building.

"Sure. Just lead the way." answered Joseph, shrugging and he follows the guard. All the while he's keeping his mind open for any stray thought, just in case of an emergency.

Upon getting into the main chamber, Joseph see's that Van and Allen are also there.

::Any idea what's going on here, you two?:: asked Joseph, projecting the message at them instead of through out the room. Allen and Van just shake thier heads. Joseph then approaches the thrones in which King Maximillian and Queen Tabitha are seated, and bows to them. "How may I be of service to your Majesties?"

"Well Joseph, the reason we called you here for is of a simple matter." said King Maximillian, as he indicates both himself and the queen. "The reason is that me and my wife would like to make you a proposition that you may like."

"Which is, sir?" asked Joseph, looking up at the king and queen.

"We would like to make you a duke in this country, and a general in times of war." answered the king, as a small smirk pulls at the corner of his mouth. "Do you accept Joseph?"

"I-I don't know what to say, King Maximillian, other then that I would be honoured by such gifts." Stutters Joseph in amazement, and out of the corner of his eye he could see that Van is trying hard not to laugh.

"We'll have a celebration to commerate the momentous occasion in two weeks time." said King Maximillian, with a gentle smile.

"As you wish, my lord." said Joseph, bowing, then turns and walks out of the room.

Once outside, Joseph starts to walk to his room. Just then, Van comes up beside him.

"What's wrong Joseph?" he asked seeing the confused look on Joseph's face.

"Hmm? Oh nothing. Just thinking." said Joseph, glancing over at Van.

"About what? If you don't mind me asking." said Van, looking down at the ground while thier walking.

"Well. I'm thinking of asking Merle to marry me. But there's one small problem." said Joseph, stopping and looking at Van, who also stopped.

"Which is?" asked Van, looking at Joseph with a raised eyebrow.

"I don't know if you would give me permission to ask her, Van." answers Joseph, looking down at the ground.

"Joseph." said Van, coming over and places a hand on Joseph's shoulder. "You don't have to ask. I know how much you love Merle and vice versa. So my answer is yes."

"Really?" asked Joseph, looking up and see's Van nodding in agreement.

"I had a feeling that you'd ask me that, so I told Merle that if you asked her to marry you that she has my permission to say yes." answered Van, smiling at him knowingly. "Now you better go tell her the good news and do your proposing to her."

"Thankyou Van. Your a good friend." said Joseph, taking Van's hand and shakes it vigourously.

"Not a problem, Joseph. You've done so much for our cause, it's the least that I could do. Besides, your a friend and a hero." replied Van, taking his hand from Joseph. "Now get going."

With that, Joseph walks off to his room to see Merle and Tamera. Upon reaching the room, he stops and listens only to be met by giggles from Tamera, which causes him to briefly smile. He then puts on a straight face and walks into the room to find both Merle and Tamera at the table, talking with a roaring fire, blazing in the fireplace. When they hear the door to the room open, Merle and Tamera look over and see's Joseph standing there with a confused look on his face.

"What's the matter Joseph?" asked Merle, getting up and walks over to Joseph.

"Well. I have two peices of good news for the two of you." said Joseph, as he guides Merle back over to the table.

"What is it daddy?" asked Tamera, as Joseph and Merle sit down at the table.

"The first peice of good news is that in two weeks time, I'm going to become a duke." said Joseph, with a small smile.

"That's excellent news, Joseph." said Merle, taking Joseph's hand into hers. "I'm so happy for you. Now. What about the other news?"

"Well. In order for me to tell you the second peice of news, I have to get down here." said Joseph, getting out of his chair and kneels down on one knee in front of Merle, causing her to let out a little gasp.

"What are you doing, daddy?" asked Tamera, watching her father.

"Your about to find out, Tamera." said Joseph, glancing over at his daughter, then takes Merle's left hand and looks up at her. "Merle. Would you do me the honour of marrying me and becoming my wonderfull wife?"

"Wh-what?" asked Merle, stunned and looks down at Joseph.

"Will you marry me?" he asked again, looking up at her with a nervous look on his face.

"Y-yes, Joseph. I will marry you." answered Merle as she starts to cry and lunges into Joseph's open arms. "I've been waiting for a long time for you to ask me that."

"I know." is all Joseph can say before Merle leans in and kisses him passionantly on the lips.

"Yippy." Tamera shouts out in pure happiness, as she climbs out of her chair and jumps up and down excitedly while clapping her hands together. "I'm getting a new mommy."

End Of Part 5 By Rathorc Lemenger!! 


	8. Chapter 8

Attackof theNew Zaibach Part 6: The long awaited wedding.  
By Rathorc Lemenger

(Authors note 1: Please don't sue me for any and all copyrighted characters. All other characters that are not in the original story line belong to me.)

"I know." is all Joseph can say before Merle kisses him passionately on the lips.

"Yeah." Tamera shouts out in pure happiness, as she climbs out of her chair and jumps up and down excitedly while clapping her hands together. "I'm getting a new mommy."

*************************************

The next day, Joseph is just standing outside on the deck, watching the sunrise in all of it's glory. After a few minutes of leaning against the railing, there's a slight click of a door shutting from inside the room. A couple of seconds later, there's some footsteps coming towards Joseph. The footsteps stop right behind him, and a pair of tanned skinned and stripped arms wrap themselves around his waist.

"What's wrong, Joseph?" asked Merle, placing her chin onto his left shoulder.

"Nothings wrong Merle. Why would there be?" he asked, turning to look at her.

"Well. You seem to be stressed about something." answered Merle, bringing her arms up and putting her hands behind Joseph's neck as she starts stroking his hair. "Does it have to do with you becoming a duke at the end of the following two weeks?"

"Nope. I'm just excited," answered Joseph, smiling and kissing Merle on the forehead. "and happy at the same time."

"About what?" she asked, smiling and looking up into his eyes with love and knowing in hers. "I know that I'm happy that you asked me to marry you. I was so excited last night that I could barely sleep."

"That's exactly what I'm happy about, Merle. I'm happy that we're going to get married, so the two of us can raise a family together." answered Joseph, smiling as he leans over and presses his forehead against hers. "I'm also happy that I got two loving people in my life that I love and cherish with all my heart and life."

"Is that true, daddy?" asked Tamera, sleepily from the doorway.

"Tamera. What are you doing awake this early?" asked Joseph, as he looks over at Tamera as she's standing there,  
holding her teddy and wiping the sleep from her eyes. "And the answer to your question is yes. It is true."

"I got woken* up when the door opened and closed." she answered, smiling at the two of them.

"I'm sorry Tamera. I didn't mean to wake you up." said Merle, turning and looking at Tamera with a smile.

"That's okey." she answered, coming over and looking over the rail at the sunrise. "Oh pretty."

"Before I forget. Can you do me a small favour Merle?" asked Joseph, looking at Merle.

"What?" she asked, turning and smiling up at Joseph.

"I was wondering if you could take care of Tamera while I'm fixing up the Epsilon." said Joseph. "If you don't mind,  
that is."

"I don't mind Joseph. If Tamera wants me to." said Merle, glancing down at Tamera.

"Okey." answered Tamera, smiling up at Joseph and Merle.

"Then I'll do it." said Merle, reaching over to Tamera and scuffing her hair.

"Then, I'll go and do my thing and you ladies can do your things." said Joseph, winking at them, as he walks into the room and out the door.

*-Authors note: I know that I had miss-spelled this word and I did it on purpose.

********************************

After working for a couple of hours on the Harold, Joseph suddenly feels a weight come down on his up raised knees, which causes him to take a look at the source. After focusing for a couple of seconds, he see's that it's Tamera who's sitting on his legs. He then rolls himself out on the special back board the he created.

"Hi daddy." said Tamera, smiling down at him from her perch while holding her stuffed bear.

"Care to explain to me what your doing here Tamera?" he asked, looking up at her.

"I was on my way back from swimming with Merle and miss Hitomi." she answered, causing Joseph to notice her wet hair, all the while she's giggling.

"You went swimming and you didn't invite your own father?" said Joseph, pretending to cry. "Where, oh where,  
have I gone wrong?"

"Daddy, you know that I'm a girl AND your not supposed to see girls swimming or taking baths." answered Tamera, looking down at Joseph with her hands on her hips.

"I'm joking, Tamera." said Joseph, reaching over to grab a piece of cloth so he can wipe his hands. "You were supposed to laugh."

"No one's laughing, Joseph." said Merle, stepping around from the front of the Harold. She then bends down and picks up the cloth that Joseph was reaching for and passes it to him.

"Can't blame me for trying, can you?"he asked, taking the cloth from Merle and starts to wipe his hands clean.  
"Now that the all the bolts and screws are tightened on the Harold, a good swim is starting to sound good to me right about now."

"You need it daddy." said Tamera, as she gets up.

"It's a good thing that I brought you some dry clothes then." added Merle, unslinging the bag from her shoulder,  
then passes it to Joseph as he's getting up.

"Aren't your clothes in here too?" asked Joseph, looking from the bag to Merle, while getting up off the ground.

"No. Hitomi's taking that bag back to the castle." answers Merle, nodding back towards the castle.

"Well, I guess I'd better get going. But before I go, I want to know if your going to stay here 'til I get back." said Joseph, smiling at Merle and Tamera.

"Why do you want to know for daddy?" asked Tamera, looking at Joseph.

"So I could drive you both back to the castle with me." he answers, shrugging at Merle.

"If your going to be quick about it, then we'll wait." said Merle, smiling at her lover.

"Yeah. We'll wait for you daddy." agreed Tamera, nodding and smiling.

"Then I'll be faster then a cheetah on the open plains of Africa." said Joseph, as he walks towards the nearest pond,  
carrying the bag.

"What's a cheetah?" Tmaera asked, looking up at Merle and recieves a small shrug.

*****************************

That evening, Joseph walks into the room where King Maximilian has called a meeting to figure out what to do about the attacks from Zaibach. After a couple of hours, when the meeting is done and everyone has left, Joseph is standing in front of King Maximilian and Queen Tabitha.

"What can I do for you Joseph?" asked the king, leaning back.

"Well. I've been thinking about that offer that you made me yesterday." said Joseph, looking down at the ground.

"What of it?" asked the king, looking at Joseph with interest.

"Well, I was just wondering if it's possible to be close to, if not on, Fanilia's border. I know that this country borders with Fanalia." said Joseph, looking up at the king and queen.

"What is the reason that you ask this of me, Joseph?" asked the king, reaching up and rubbing his chin.

"It's more for Merle then it's for me, sir." answers Joseph, shrugging his shoulders.

"Ahh. It's for your future wife then." said Queen Tabitha, with a gentle smile.

"How did you know that Merle is to be my wife?" asked Joseph, as he looks up at the queen, amused.

"Your daughter, Tamera, couldn't stop talking about how she's going to have Merle as her new mother." answered the queen, as she smiles a little bit more. "Congratulations Joseph."

"Yes congratulations Joseph. You can consider your request approved and effective immediately." said the king,  
smiling at his friend.

"Thankyou, Majesties." said Joseph, bowing as he leaves.

**************************************

Upon getting back to his room, Joseph opens the door and is bowled over by both Merle and Tamera.

"We missed you daddy." said Tamera, hugging Joseph around the neck while Merle is licking Joseph on his cheek.

"I missed you both too." said Joseph, kissing Tamera on the forehead and Merle on the lips.

"So how did it go?" asked Merle, after a minute, as both she and Tamera get up off of him.

"Well, before I tell you about how it went, I got some good news for you Merle." said Joseph, getting up off the ground and putting an arm around Merle's shoulders and holding a hand out for Tamera, which she eagerly takes.

"Really? What?" asked Merle, leading the way back into the room.

"When this war is over and my duke-ship is in effect. Me, you and Tamera will have our place at the border between this country and Fanilia, just for you Merle. So you can be closer to Van." said Joseph, gently smiling.

"Really, Joseph?" asked Merle, looking at Joseph and see's him nodding in response to her question. "Oh thankyou Joseph. Your the greatest." All of a sudden, Merle turns Joseph's face towards her and she gives him a passionant kiss, then pulls away and gives him a wink. "That's just a preview of what is going to happen once we get married."

"Um.... What ever you say Merle. Now about how the meeting went." said Joseph, stuttering while blushing.

About a half hour later, there's a knock on the door. Which causes Joseph, Merle, and Tamera to turn towards the door.

"Come in." Joseph calls out.

The door opens to reveal that it is both Millerna and Allen standing in the doorway.

"Hello Joseph." said Millerna, smiling. "Me and Allen just came to congratulate you."

"On what Millerna?" asked Joseph, then he quickly gets out of his chair for Millerna. "Oh. Come in and sit down,  
you two before you say anything else."

"We have come to congratulate you on the good news of the two of you getting married, of course." answered Millerna, smiling and sitting down, she then looks over at Merle. "How does it feel, Merle?"

"How does what feel?" asked Merle, blushing and looking down at the table. She then looks up at Millerna, with a small smile on her face. "It feels wonderful."

While Merle, Tamera and Millerna are talking, Allen takes Joseph out onto the deck to talk.

"You know Joseph, I never thought that you would go through with it." said Allen, looking out over the city.

"What do you mean by that, Allen?" said Joseph, glaring at Allen.

"Don't take it as an insult Joseph, because it isn't one." said Allen, turning and looking at Joseph. "What I meant is that I never would have thought that you would ask Merle to marry you is all. How did Tamera take it when you asked Merle to marry you?"

"Well, she was jumping up and down with joy that she found hard to contain and that me and Merle found hard to get out of her." said Joseph, smiling and leaning against the banister in such a way that he could look back into the room to see the women talking and laughing. He then turns and looks back at Allen. "How did the two of you find out anyway?"

"Well, you want to know the truth?" asked Allen, turning and looking at Joseph.

"I'd like to know." said Joseph, looking back into the room.

"It was Hitomi that had told us about it and it was Van who told her." answered Allen, looking back into the room smiling.

"Remind me to have a talk to Van later, will ya?" asked Joseph, smiling.

"Sure, Joseph." answered Allen, nodding his head, smiling.

"Thanks" said Joseph, smiling. "Oh. Before I forget, I think that you should know something Allen."

"What?" asked Allen, glancing over at Joseph.

"From what I've seen, I think that Millerna is still in love with you." said Joseph, looking into the room to see Merle staring at him dreamily.

"Really?" asked Allen, with a hint of sarcasm. "I never noticed."

Just then, Millerna gets up out of her chair and walks to th open door.

"Allen. I'm ready to go now." she said with a smile. She then looks at Joseph. "I think that you did a good thing,  
Joseph. You won't regret it."

"Thank you lady Millerna." is all Joseph can get out before Millerna turns and leaves the room, followed by Allen.

"Everything okey Joseph?" asks Merle, as Joseph comes walking back into the room.

"Yeah. Of course everything is okey Merle. Why wouldn't it be?" he asks, sitting down in the chair and smiles. He then looks from Merle to Tamera and back again. "So. What are we going to do tomorrow?"

"I'm *Yawn* going to play with my friends, daddy." answers Tamera, groggily.

"I'm going to go shopping and start to get things for the wedding." answers Merle, as she reaches over and strokes Tamera's hair. "What are you going to do Joseph?"

"Well, I'm going to get some stuff that I found in the Harold. Then I'm going to go into the kitchen and cook some stuff up." answered Joseph, he then looks over at Tamera and see's that she's falling asleep in her chair. "Tamera.  
Why don't you get changed and go to bed. Your falling asleep."

"Okey daddy." said Tamera, as she gets up out of her chair, walks over to her curtain and starts to get changed.

"I just thought of something." said Joseph, turning and looking at Merle. "We never set a date for the wedding."

"That's okey Joseph. Millerna told me that it's taking place right after you become a duke." said Merle, blushing and smiling at the same time.

"No one told me of this." said Joseph, with a surprised look on his face. "Here I am and I don't even have a suit to wear for it."

"Oh don't worry about that Joseph. The king has already given your measurements to the castles tailor." said Merle,  
bringing her hands up and placing them under her chin as she rests her head on them,

Just then, Tamera comes walking over to Joseph and gives him a kiss on the cheek.

"Good night daddy." she said, she then walks over to her bed and climbs into it, falling asleep almost instantly.

"Good night sweety." said Joseph over his shoulder, smiling.

"Well." said Merle as she's getting up out of her chair. "I'd better get going. It's going to be a long 14 days."

"Tell me about it. If we're lucky enough, we'll get through this with our sanity intact." said Joseph, getting up out of his chair and walks Merle to the door. "See you tomorrow night?"

"You bet your wings that I'll see you tomorrow night." said Merle, smiling up at him.

"In that case I'll make supper for the three of us." said Joseph, giving Merle a wink.

"Sounds good to me." said Merle, she then stands on her tip toes and kisses Joseph on the lips. After a couple of seconds of kissing, she pulls away. "I'll see you then, handsome."

With that said, Merle goes walking out the door with her tail swishing behind her. All Joseph can do is smile and shakes his head while shutting the door. He then gets changed into a t-shirt and a pair of jogging pants. Once changed, he goes over to his bed, laying down, he surrenders to the darkness of sleep.

*  
The next morning, Joseph is jolted awake by a distant crash of wood being broken.

"What the hell?" yelled Joseph, as he jumps out of bed and looks around to see Tamera already up and looking out the window. "What's going on Tamera?" he asks running over to Tamera.

"The city. It's under attack daddy." answered Tamera, looking up at him and pointing out the window, then looking out the window.

"Damn it." said Joseph, looking out the window to see that some of New Zaibach's forces attacking. "I got to get to the Harold. Now."

All of a sudden, Joseph disappears and reappears next to the Epsilon Harold. Without asking about what just happened, Joseph quickly climbs up into the ladder and jumps into his mecha, all the while putting the think helmet on. Three minutes later, the Epsilon is flying over the city, with Joseph looking for the most amassed number of Zaibach soldiers.

"Shit." said Joseph, swearing under his breath, when he counts a total of fifteen enemy Gaimelfs heading towards the castle. "I think that your not getting past the golden phoenix of death."

Just then, Joseph presses a single button and releases his last five missiles, then watches them strikes the Zaibach forces. Upon striking them, the five missiles explode and destroys ten out of the fifteen, sending burnt pieces into the air, which land on some nearby buildings. Joseph then takes the Epsilon through it's steps from fighter to guardian to battloid, in one swift movement and lands doing a quick mode configuration from beam to gateling,  
and extends one of the blades from one of his forearms in case of any close quarters combat. He just finishes when six blips appear on his sonar, all of which are coming from various directions towards him.

"This is about to get interesting." said Joseph with a slight smirk on his face. He then turns and faces the direction of the closest giamelf. "Bring it on."

A couple of seconds later, a blueish giamelf rounds the bend ahead, the pilot stops and faces the Harold.

"Ask yourself one question, punk." said Joseph over the speakers, while levelling the nossle of the cannon at the gaimelf. "Ask yourself: Do I feel lucky today? Well do ya.... punk?"

*Authors note: place the worlds most well known old western scene with the music here.

A second later, the gaimelf's charging at the Epsilon while shooting out some of the liquid metal from the nozzles in it's arm.

"Well, can't say that I didn't warn you." said Joseph, as he starts to dodge the shots. He then aims his cannon and pulls the trigger, sending a slug into the giamelf's chest. A split second later the gaimelf collapses to the ground.  
"Goodbye."

Just then, out of the corner of his eye, Joseph see's something large go running past a side street between two buildings. A couple of seconds later, the four remaining Zaibach Gaimelfs take to the sky, much to Joseph's surprise.  
Just as Joseph turns to face the fleeing Gaimelfs, he see's the Escaflowne flying circles high above him as he's watching the battle.

"Hello Van. Having fun?" asked Joseph, over the speakers, and thrusting the rifle into the air in salute.

Joseph then turns the Harold, and starts to walk towards the castle at a careful pace. As he's turning, a compartment opens and five boxes fall out onto his lap. Joseph looks down and reads the words: Premium Milk Chocolate, that are printed on them. He then proceeds to walk towards the castle, smiling as he walks towards the castle, knowing what to do about the choclate. * Authors note: Insert the song "1000 Miles" by the Proclaimers,  
here Five minutes later, when the Epsilon reaches the gates, the guards open the gate so the Harold can get through.

"You didn't have to open the gates you know." said Joseph, over the speakers, switching the Epsilon over to guardian. After a couple of seconds, he engages the hover jets and floats up over the wall and lands in the courtyard. A few minutes later, the cock pit opens and Joseph jumps out. "Lucy I'm hoome." he yells out, as he takes off his flight helmet.

"You just had to do it, didn't you?" said Hitomi, coming up to Joseph, and followed by the others. "You just had to show off."

"Who's showing off 'tomi?" asked Joseph, shrugging as Merle and Tamera walk over to him and give him a large hugs.

"How did you disappear like that, daddy?" asked Tamera, looking up at her father with wide eyed wonder.

"I have absolutely no clue, Tamera." said Joseph, as he scuffs her hair. "All I know is that I was in our room one minute and the next I was standing next to the Harold."

"This is just getting to be a little unusual." said Van, as he's coming up to the group. He then turns and looks at Joseph. "By the way Joseph. What did you mean by 'Having Fun'?"

"Well. It just seemed to me that you enjoyed yourself when you were fighting against Zaibach, that's all." answered Joseph, shrugging at Van.

"Okey." said Van, shrugging back at Joseph.

"So this is the famous Epsilon Harold that everyone is talking about" said King Maximilian, as he walks up to the group with his wife.

"Yes sir. The one and only." answered Joseph, smiling from ear to ear.

"It's a wonderful piece of machinery. It seems to be quite powerful from what we've seen of it." said Queen Tabitha,  
smiling at Joseph, Tamera, and Merle.

"Oh. Before I forget. I found something in a secret refrigerated compartment of my cockpit that I want to give to you ladies." said Joseph, letting go of Merle and Tamera. He then climbs up the ladder and into the cockpit. A couple of seconds later, Joseph jumps down with the five boxes tucked under his arm. Once down, he passes a box to each of the women. "Here you go. A box of chocolates for each one of you."

"What are chocolates, daddy?" asked Tamera, looking down at the box in her hands for a couple of seconds then tries to open it to no avail. She then looks up at Joseph and holds the box out to him. "I can't open it daddy. Can you?"

"I sure can." said Joseph, taking the box from Tamera and taking the plastic off it. He then passes it back to her.  
"Here you go, sweety. Have fun."

"Thankyou daddy." said Tamera with a smile. She then opens the box and stares at all the chocolates, with her jaw dropping. "Wow."

"Hmm." said Joseph. He then leans towards King Maximilian as he looks at the other four women s happy faces. "I think I just saved all the guys behinds. Don't you King Maximilian?"

"Some how, I agree with you, Joseph. Thank you." answered the king, glancing at Joseph then looking back at the women as they munch on their candies.

"And if we're lucky, all that sugar, will let us men get all the fun we can handle tonight." said Joseph and recieves nods of agreement from the other men.

"Yummy." said Tamera, with a large smile on her face.

"Wonderful." agreed Merle, she then looks over to Joseph and the other men and see's them watching them. She then walks over to Joseph and gives him a chocolate flavored kiss on the lips. "Thank you for the candy, Joseph."

Joseph then recieves thankyou's from the other women. All the while he's blushing like mad.

"No problem ladies. I figured that I should give them to you when they poped out. So enjoy yourselves to your hearts contentment." said Joseph, with a large smile on his face.

"Well. Looks like we have our work cut out for us today." said Hitomi, looking towards the city. "I wonder how long it's going to take?"

"I'm sorry. But I tried to minimise the damage as much as possible." said Joseph, scratching his head and looking down at the ground. "But it's those damn Zaibach mecha. They explode too easily AND when they do explode,  
they cause more damage then what's to be expected."

"Yes. That does seem to be a little on the strange side." agreed Van. "But it's not your fault Joseph. At least you got rid of them for now."

"At what cost to life?" Joseph asked, looking at Van.

"We better get going and see what we can do." said Hitomi, as she starts walking towards the gates and is followed by Merle, Millerna and Tamera.

"Tamera. I want you to stay here." Joseph called out to Tamera.

"But daddy. I want to help out too." Tamera whined, turning around to face Joseph.

"You will Tamera. Ladies, if you don't mind, can you send all the children that are hurt here, with one of thier parents? once you bandaged them up, I mean." asked Joseph, and recieves nods from all three women. "And please be careful Merle."

"Do you have a plan daddy?" asked Tamera, as she walks over to Joseph.

"You could say that, Tamera." answered Joseph, with a smile. "You could say that."

****************************

Fourteen days later, a crowd of people are gathered in the local church for the giving of a "duke-ship" to Joseph and the marraige between Merle and Joseph. Hundreds of people are both inside and outside the church, all of which are talking to one another. Meanwhile, in one of the rooms, Joseph's trying to put on the suit when Hitomi and Tamera come walking into the room.

"Hi daddy." said Tamera, waving at her father as she sits in a nearby chair.

"Hi Tamera. Having fun?" he asked, looking over at Tamera.

"Yes daddy." she answered, nodding. "I'm having lots and lots of fun."

"Here Joseph. Let me help." offered Hitomi, walking over and fixing Joseph's top for him.

"Thanks 'tomi. You know, I'm starting to wish they had tuxes here." said Joseph, smiling. "Be much more better movement."

"I take it that your nervous?" asked Hitomi, smiling gently at her friend.

"Yes. Of course I'm nervous." said Joseph, glancing at the mirror. "But I have a feeling that Merle is even more so then what I am."

"Your right about that Joseph." agreed Hitomi, nodding and smiling at the same time. "Millerna's trying to get her to calm down."

"I'd hate to be over there right now. Am I right Tamera?" Joseph asked as Hitomi finishes helping him, and recieves a nod from Tamera. "Thanks."

"You know," said Hitomi, smiling. "If I wasn't already married to Van, I'd ask you out on a date."

"Where is Van anyway?" asked Joseph, blushing.

"He's with Allen, King Max and Queen Tabitha." answered Hitomi, stroking Joseph on the shoulder.

"Well, let's get this over with so I can stop being so damned nervous." said Joseph, shifting from foot to foot.

"No problem Joseph." answers Hitomi, leading the way out of the room, followed by Joseph and Tamera. All the while, Joseph and Tamera are holding hands.

Along the way, Hitomi gives a small tap on Merle's dressing room door, and tells Merle and Millerna to hurry up.  
Two minutes later, they stop in front of the doors leading into the main part of the church and Hitomi turns to face Joseph and Tamera.

"The two of you wait here. Once you hear the music, the doors will open and you walk in. Got it?" she asked,  
glancing from one to the other. "It's that simple."

"Got'cha Hitomi." said Joseph, smiling nervously. "Let's do it."

"And one more thing, Joseph. Relax some." said Hitomi, smiling at him before she disappears through the doors.

A minute later, the music starts up and the doors swing open to reveal a large amount of people, who are turning to face Joseph and Tamera as they walk down towards Van, Allen, Hitomi, King Maximillian and Queen Tabitha. Once in front of them, both Joseph and Tamera bows to the King and Queen.

"Rise Joseph and Tamera Edwin." said the king. He then looks out over the crowd. "We are gathered here today to celebrate the giving and recieving of a dukeship of this great country."

All around the room there's a hushed, happy silence.

*You know. It's so quiet in here that if a pin dropped on the other side of this building, you could just barely hear it.* said Joseph, nervously using his telepathy and recieves amused looks from Van and the others.

"Please kneel Joseph and Tamera," continued the king, trying to be as serious as possible because of what Joseph said and taking a sword from it's sheath at his side. "and prepare to recieve this gift."

Both Joseph and Tamera kneel before the king. A couple of seconds later, he could feel the tip of the sword touch his left shoulder.

"I bestow the title 'duke' upon you with all the honours and privilage's that come with it." said King Maximillian,  
moving the sword from Joseph's left shoulder to his right. The king then turns to Tamera and then places the tip of the sword upon Tamera's shoulders. "And I bestow upon you Tamera, the title of 'lady' upon you." The king then takes the sword and puts it back into it's sheath. "You may now rise, Duke Joseph. Pilot of the Epsilon Harold and father to Lady Tamera."

"Thank you, your Majesties." said Joseph and Tamera, rising to thier feet to a roar of applause from the crowd. Out of the corner of his eye, Joseph could see Van making his way through the door to the back room.

"We have also gathered here today for a truly special occasion." said the King, when the applause has died down.  
"We're gathered here for the marriage between Duke Joseph and a most wonderful women named Merle."

A couple of seconds later the music starts up again, causing Joseph to turn and look back towards the doors. After a minute of waiting, the doors open to reveal Merle, wearing a white wedding dress with a vail, calmly walking into the room and holding onto Van's arm. When they finally reach the front, Merle let's go of Van's arm and stands beside Joseph, so that they are standing in front of King Maximillian. Joseph just spares a brief glance and see's that some of the fur on Merle's ears are standing on end and he could feel the fear and nervousness pouring off her like a river.

"Now that everyone's here. Let's get started, shall we?" asked King Maximillian in a low voice, as he gives Merle and Joseph a small wink as Tamera stands to the side.

After a few minutes and the exchanging of rings, Joseph and Merle turn and look at the king.

"Do you Joseph, take Merle, as your lawful wedded wife?" asked the king, looking at Joseph.

"I do." answers Joseph, smiling.

"And do you, Merle, take Duke Joseph, as your lawful wedded husband?" the King asked, turning and looking at Merle.

"I do." answers Merle, from under the vail, as she blushes and smiles.

"In that case," said the king, as his smile broadens and turning to Joseph. "you may kiss the bride."

Joseph and Merle turn to face one another. Joseph leans down, as he's lifting the vail from Merle's face, and kisses her fully and passionantly on the lips as everyone applauds and cheers. After what seems like an eternity, they break the kiss and the two newly-weds turn to face the crowd and waves to them. Joseph smiles and turns to his left where Tamera was standing, he kneels down and picks Tamera, who is crying tears of happiness, up. He then turns and walks down the isle with with Merle at his side, Tamera in his arms and the King and Queen ahead of him.

"Daddy?" said Tamera, whispering into his ear.

"Yes Tamera?" asked Joseph, smiling and turns to look at his daughter.

"Thankyou daddy." she answers, giving Joseph a large smile as the tears keep streaming down her cheeks.

"For what, sweety?" asked Joseph, wiping away Tamera's tears.

"For giving me a mommy, of course." she said with a gentle smile.

Tamera then gives Joseph a large hug around the neck. She then reaches out and puts a arm around Merle's neck and hugs the two of them to her at the same time. Once outside, Tamera jumps down and runs over to the carriage that's waiting for them.

"You know," said Joseph, leaning towards Merle with a smile on his face. "I think she's as excited as we are."

"Really?" asked Merle, looking at Joseph with a sarcastic surprised look on her face and a sarcastic tone in her voice. "I never noticed."

Just then, they reach the carraiges and Joseph opens the door for Merle, Van, Tamera and Hitomi to climb in.

"Gawd. I'm never doing that again." said Joseph, climbing in and flopping down in one of the seats next to Merle.

"Were you nervous, daddy?" Tamera asked, as she sits between Joseph and Merle, and placing her head onto Merle's shoulder.

"Nervous? Try more along the lines of terrified." said Joseph and recieves laughs from the adults. Joseph then looks past Tamera and at Merle. "Though, I did notice that you were as terrified as I was, Merle."

"How could you tell sweetheart?" asked Merle, looking over at Joseph with a raised eyebrow.

"Two ways. First: I felt the ripples of happy fear from you. Second: there were tufts of fur sticking up off your ears."  
answered Joseph, reaching across Tamera and taking Merle's hand, then gives it a small squeeze, all the while smiling.

End Of Part 6 By Rathorc Lemenger!! 


	9. Chapter 9

Attack Of New Zaibach Part 7: The Truth.  
By Rathorc Lemenger!!

(Authors note 1: Please don't sue me for any and all copyrighted characters. All other characters that are not in the original story line belong to me.)

(Authors Note 2: This is a note to all people that this part of the Escaflowne involves a fair amount of sex. So that means that depending on where you are in the world at large, then your not aloud to read this with out parental consent.)

That night, Joseph's standing by the punch bowl with Tamera, drinking punch and water, while waiting for Merle to arrive. While they're waiting, they're talking and listening to the music that's playing through the air while paople around them are dancing, talking, and laughing.

"Daddy?" Tamera asked, taking a drink of water from her cup.

"Yes Tamera?" Joseph asked, looking down at his daughter with a small smile playing on his lips.

"What is it like to be married?" she asked, taking another drink of water.

"Well. It's one of the most wonderful things that could happen to you. But you'll understand when you get older,  
Tamera." he answered, drinking some punch.

Just then, Merle comes walking over, wearing a long red dress and a smile. When she reaches the two of them,  
she taps Joseph on the shoulder to get his attention.

"Hmm?" asked Joseph turning around, and he recieves a rather large, long, passionant kiss on the lips from Merle.

"Hello there, my dear husband." said Merle, smiling as she pulls away. She then bends down in front of Tamera with a gentle smile on her face. "Hello there, Tamera."

"Hi mommy." said Tamera, as she places her cup up on the table. She then runs over to Merle and throws her arms around her neck, all the while they're both laughing. Merle then stands up with Tamera in her arms.

Just then, King Max and Queen Tabitha come walking over to the new family. King Max reaches out and shakes Joseph's hand, he then gives Merle and Tamera each a hug to congradulate them. Queen Tabitha gives Joseph,  
Merle, and Tamera each a hug.

"Oh Tamera. How would you like your own room for the rest of your stay here?" asked Queen Tabitha, looking down at Tamera.

"Really?" asked Tamera, sounding surprised and a look to go along with it while she glances from one to the other.  
"Can I really?"

"So long as your father agree's with it." said King Max, as he and the others turn to look at Joseph.

"Can't see why not. Besides, I was hoping to have the room for both me and Merle tonight." answers Joseph,  
scuffing Tamera's hair and gives Merle a quick wink.

"Joseph. Not in front of the child." said Merle, giving him a dirty look. "Save it for later."

"Your right." said Joseph, looking over at Merle laughing. "Better cover your ears, Merle."

"Thankyou daddy." cried Tamera, as she climbs down from Merle. She then runs over to Joseph and jumps into his arms, hugging him. "Your the best."

"I know that Tamera." said Joseph, smiling at his daughter. He then looks at the others as the smile gets bigger.  
"Shall we go and dance now?"

"Now that is not such a bad idea." said King Max, nodding his head in agreement with a smile. He then turns to his wife. "Come, Tabitha. Let's go, dance, socialise and be merry as Joseph likes to say."

"C'mon Tamera." said Joseph, as Joseph put Tamera down, then takes her hand in his while Merle takes his arm in hers. He then makes his way to the dance floor with his two favorite women. "Let's all go and dance."

When they get to where the dancing is, the five of them start to dance and join in the fun.

***********************

Later that night, Joseph walks into his room that he's now sharing with Merle, shutting the door behind him. All of a sudden, he hears a happy sigh, which causes him look up and see's Merle standing there wearing the dress from the party.

"So Joseph." said Merle, smiling as she walks over to Joseph with a seductive smile and gives him the most passionate kiss that she ever gave him. After a full minute of kissing him, Merle breaks off the kiss and runs a finger down his chest. "How about a little fun?"

"Oh yeah." agreed Joseph, smiling as he reaches behind Merle and starts to undo her dress. "Now is about the right time to seal the marraige to each other."

Through out the night, all that can be heard is the passion of the newly-wed couple.

***************************

The next day, Joseph and Merle walk into the dinning room. As Joseph looks around, he see's bags under Van's,  
Hitomi's, Allen's and Millerna's eyes. When Merle and Joseph reach the table, they catch Tamera's attention.

"Mommy. Daddy. Your here." shrieks Tamera, getting out of her chair and running over.

"Where else would we be Tamera?" asked Joseph, throwing out his arms and catches Tamera. After giving Tamera a quick hug, Joseph pretends to finally notice Hitomi and the others. "What's wrong with you four? You all look terrible."

"Of course we would be Joseph." answers Hitomi as she munches away on some bacon. "We were up all night because of the two of you."

"We have a legitimate excuse though." said Joseph, walking over to his and Merle's chairs. He then puts Tamera down and pulls out a chair out for Merle, Which she accepts with great enthuesiasm. "We're happily married."

"At least you had fun." said Van, almost nodding off to sleep. "Buy the banging that we all heard."

"I didn't hear anything." said Tamera, as she sits back down into her chair.

"Yeah, you were too busy snoring to hear a thing." said Hitomi, giving Tamera a quick wink, which causes the little girl to burst out into giggles.

"Where's King Maximillian and Queen Tabitha at?" asked Joseph, looking around the dining room. "I figured that they'd be here as well."

"They dropped by and told us to start eating once the two of you showed up." Hitomi said, as she continues eating.

"Sounds fine by me." said Joseph, sitting down and piles turkey and other meats onto his plate. After a minute,  
both him and Merle start eating. "I'm famished."

A little while later, once Joseph finished eating, he stands and excuses himself, saying that he has a few things to get done.

**************************

That afternoon, while Joseph is running a systems check and fixing a couple of broken circuts under the dashboard, when he hears a slight knock on the canopy. He sits up straight and looks towards the source, only to find that Tamera is smiling and waving at him to open the cockpit. He just smiles and flips the switches on for the speakers/recievers, he then turns down the volume some.

"What can I do for you Tamera?" he asked, turning and looking back at Tamera.

"Well. Mommy told me to tell you that it's time for lunch." answered Tamera, grinning from ear to ear.

"That lunch idea sounds great to me." said Joseph, lifting the canopy up and jumping into the air. He then floats down with his arms crossed and lands on the ground. "Let's go get us some food."

"Okey daddy. Let's go." said Tamera, jumping off the ladder and walks beside Joseph, as they head back into the main building, hand in hand.

When they get to the dining room, they're greeted by various wonderful smells as well as sights. That's when Joseph finally notices that everyone is dressed in there best clothes, including Tamera. After a couple of seconds everyone turns and looks at Joseph.

"What in Zeus's name is going on here?" asked Joseph, looking around at everyone with a raised eyebrow.

"We're celebrating of course." said Merle, stepping forward and hands Joseph a cup of wine.

"Need I ask why?" Joseph asked, taking a sip of wine. "Or should I even bother?"

"It's been exactly a year and a half since you arrived and joined up with us." answered Van, coming forward and patting Joseph on the shoulder.

"It's been that long?" Joseph asked, and recives nods in return. "Doesn't feel like it."

Joseph then happens to look down and see's that he's not dressed for the occasion. He then looks at the others and excuses himself so he can go get changed.

************************

"Please remind me never to bend over so far for so long ever again." said Joseph, flopping down on the bed,  
laying on his stomach and his head on the pillow.

"What's wrong Joseph?" Merle asked, walking over to the bed and sitting beside Joseph.

"My backs sore as anything." Joseph mumbled, bringing his arms up and laying his head on them.

"Take off your shirt, Joseph." said Merle, moving out of the way.

"What for?" he asked, sitting up and taking his shirt off like Merle instructed. "I'm really not in the mood for any more 'fun'"

"Your backs hurting you right? Now lay back down on your stomach."said Merle, smiling and cracking her knuckles with great enthusiasm.

"Yeah. But what's you point Merle?" asked Joseph, laying back down.

"I'm going to do to you what I used to do for lord Van." said Merle, smiling even more as she sits back down on the bed. She then puts her hands on Joseph's back and begins to massage all the kinks and sores out of the muscles, in both his back and shoulders. "How does that feel?"

"Oh man. Oh yeah. Feels wonderfully perfact." said Joseph, letting out moans as Merle keeps kneeding at his muscles.

"What were you doing Joseph?" asked Merle, after five minutes. She then brings her head down near Joseph's.  
"Your body is all tensed up."

"I was fixing up some of the loose wires in the Harold." said Joseph, getting up and stretching. He then starts to get changed into a pair of shorts and a t-shirt in front of a mirror. "You know. Your pretty good at doing massage's,  
Merle."

"You think so?" asked Merle, walking over and placing her arms around Joseph's waist and her head on his left shoulder so that they're looking at each other in the mirror.

"I know so." said Joseph, smiling. He then turns around and looks into Merle's eyes. "You know that I would never lie to you intentionally."

"Hmm. I know that you wouldn't do that." said Merle, she then gives Joseph a brief kiss on the lips and pinches his ass. She then starts to get changed for bed.

"I'll be right back Merle." said Joseph, as he finishes getting changed and walks to the door.

"Where are you off to?" she asked, without looking over in Joseph's direction.

"Gotta go check on Tamera and tuck her into bed." said Joseph, opening the door and walks out, shutting the door behind him.

Just as Joseph gets halfway to Tamera's room, he hears Tamera scream for him. From the sound of her scream, he guesses that she's either in trouble, hurt or both.

"I'm on my way Tamera. Daddies a comin'." Joseph yells as he zooms towards Tamera's room. at a high speed,  
using his powers to give him the extra speed.

When he gets to her room, he finds that the door has been locked from the inside. Joseph points down at the door knob and shoots a bolt of energy from his finger. When the bolt of energy hits the edge of the door, the door explodes inwards with a loud crack and a splintering of wood.

"Tamera. Where are you?" he calls out, upon entering the room he looks around and see's Tamera's limp form laying face down in the middle of the floor, surrounded by a pool of her own blood. "Oh god no. Tamera."

Joseph quickly runs over and carefully lifts Tamera's head up and places it on his lap. He then checks her over and finds three large stab wounds in her small chest from what appears to be a double bladed knife.

"What's going on? What's happening??" asks Hitomi, as her and Van rush into the room. Upon seeing Tamera's head on Joseph's lap, and the two of them are surrounded by Tamera's blood, they stop in thier tracks.

"Go get Millerna, now Hitomi. Oh god." cries Joseph, as tears start to stream down his face. "Please don't die on me Tamera. Your not going to die on my watch."

Joseph feels Tamera's arm for a pulse and finds a very faint one, as Hitomi rushes out of the room and down the hall calling for a medic and Millerna. All of a sudden, Joseph's two pairs of wings erupt from his back and rips his shirt. He then picks up Tamera's body up and carries her to the bed.

"What are you going to do Joseph?" asks Van, rushing over to Joseph's side.

"I'm going to save her. That's what." said Joseph, floating over to Tamera's bed and places her in it

"But how?" asked Van, trying to seperate the two of them. "She's too far gone for you to do anything."

Joseph just shoves Van out of the way so hard that he flies into the wall with a solid thud, all the while covered in a bright white light. He floats back over and places a hand on his daughters brow. After about three seconds, the glow moves from Joseph's hand and into Tamera's body.

"Please don't leave me, Tamera." Joseph cries in a low voice, as Tamera's wounds start to heal and fade and her heart beat gets stronger. "I need you. No, I love you."

Just then, Merle, Hitomi, Millerna, Allen, King Max and Queen Tabitha come rushing into the room and stop as they see that both Joseph and Tamera are glowing in a almost blinding white light. A minute later, Tamera's eyes flutter open and she looks up at her father.

"Daddy?" asks Tamera, as the glow fades and she sits up in her bed. "What's going on?"

"Good. Your back with me again." Joseph answers, looking at his child before collapsing into a large heap on the floor. A second later, the three stab wounds that were on Tamera's chest appear on Joseph's chest.

"Daddy. No." cried Tamera, as she jumps out of bed and runs to Joseph's side. "Please don't go."

********************

Joseph looks around to see that he's standing in a darkened room. All of a sudden the door at the other end of the room opens. A bright light is shining through the door causing Joseph to block his eye and blink, as a shadowed figure steps out of the door way and enters the room. After a couple of seconds of standing there, the figure starts to look around.

"Joseph? Is there a Joseph here?" the figure asks, with a stern, almost feminine, voice.

"That would be me. If you don't mind, could you shut that door, please? it's hurting my eyes." said Joseph, as he's trying to get a good look at the figure with little succes. "And who in the world are you?"

"Sorry." the figure answers, as it shuts the door. "and as to who I am," answers the shadowed form, as a ball of white light appears in it's hand to reveal that it's a humanoid with golden red hair that seems to be made out of fire,  
blue skin that looks like it was made out of the sky, and a aura that bleeds authority. The person seems to be dressed in a flowing silver and gold robe. All of a sudden, a pair of large, white dove-like wings appear from behind the person's back. "I shall be your test. You may call me Saint Hugo. Prepare yourself."

All of a sudden, Hugo spreads his/her wings and leaps up into the air. After a second of floating at the apex of the jump, Hugo lunges down at Joseph while throwing the energy ball at Joseph (which is followed by three more.  
When he see's the balls of energy flying at him, Joseph quickly jumps out of the way as the balls explode onto the 'ground' behind him, cursing all the while and changing into his battleform.

"Aha." said Hugo, as he/she switches directions and follows Joseph with a small smile on his/ her face. "I sensed that you were special in some way."

"Well pal, you ain't seen nothing yet." said Joseph, taking to the air himself and charging at his opponent head on. "This is going to be an interesting test."

Just as Joseph finishes saying this, both him and Hugo meet in a head-on collision in mid-air. After a couple of seconds of hanging there and exchanging blows, both fighters start to fall towards the 'ground' while throwing punches, energy blasts and slashing at each other. They finally seperate from each other just as they're with-in seven feet of the ground and swoop back up into the air for another charge at each other. They then charge at each other five more times until they reach the height of thier last swoop, they both stop in mid-air. As they reach a fair distance from each other, Hugo starts to fling energy balls at Joseph, while Joseph puts up a fair sized energy barrier in front of himself, just as he feels a famliar presence lending him much needed courage, energy and hope and love from behind him, that flings the balls back at Hugo. From behind his energy shield, Joseph glares at his oppenant just as Hugo stops flinging the balls.

"Are you done yet, pal?" Joseph asked, glaring at Hugo as he starts to gather up energy into his hands for his patented Kamatchimos strike. After a couple of seconds of building up energy, Joseph smiles at Hugo. "Or do we just keep on dancing?"

"You are good." answered Hugo, as he/she nods his/her head in quiet knowledge as the balls of energy fly past him/her. After a couple of seconds, Hugo floats down and land while looking at and watching Joseph. "You have just past the test."

"You mean that we're done?" asked Joseph, as he floats down and lands, all the while changing back into his human form and dissapating the energy blast. "You mean that actually past this test?"

"Of course." said Hugo, smirking ever so slightly. "You now have to make a hard choice."

"Which is what, exactly?" asked Joseph, as he finishes up his shifting while watching Hugo.

"The choice is either to go to heaven and live in peace and harmony forever," said Hugo, as a single door opens behind him/her and to the left. "Or to go back to you mortal body and live in a world that maybe deadly to you while living with pain and sorrow, along with your loved ones." All of a sudden a second door opens behind Hugo and to his/her right.

"That's obvously a no-brainer for me." said Joseph, smirking ever so slightly as he walks to the door to the right, he then stops and looks at Hugo as the smile gets bigger. "I'm going to my family and friends. I want to put thier needs and wants before mine. Now I don't know what you angels think. Quite frankly, I don't give a flying hoot about it.  
I want to be with them, more then I want to go to heaven. But when I finally do die, I'm not going to heaven without them by my side."

"I understand." said Hugo, nodding his/her head in agreement. "It is more important to be with family and friends,  
who care for you and you for them. That is what heaven is all about. Good luck. You will always have the assistance of us angels by your side."

"Thanks." said Joseph, smiling as he walks walks through the door and heads back to his body.

*********************************

On the outside world, everyone is running towards Joseph's body as Tamera is kneeling beside him, with her head on his chest, crying. All of a sudden, Joseph starts to glow a deep red as the three wounds start to heal. A couple of seconds later, a wave of energy erupts from Joseph and sends everyone hurtling against the nearest walls to them, effectively knocking them out cold. This is followed by another wave of energy that erupts from Joseph's body, and goes zooming across the room, and gets sucked into everyones bodies, which are slowly changing as the candle light flutters out.

"Uhn. Did anyone catch the plate on that A-bomb?" asked Joseph, as he slowly sits up. He then looks around and see's everyones bodies changing. "What the hell is going on here?"

*********************************

"Come on, sweety." said Joseph, kneeling down beside Tamera, gently tapping her on the cheek. "Time to wake up."

A couple of seconds later, Tamera's eyes flutter open and she looks up at her father. Around her the others are moaning as they slowly come around.

"What happened daddy?" asked Tamera, as she slowly sits up. She then throws her arms (which are seemingly covered in what appears to be shadows) around Joseph's neck. "Daddy. Your okey."

"Something awfully strange happened." said Joseph with a gentle smile, as he picks Tamera up from the ground and being careful of her newly aquired extra appendages. "Yet, oddily unusual."

A couple of seconds later, there's a loud gasp from where Hitomi came from. This is followed by a shriek from the other women.

"Calm down people." said Joseph, looking into the shadows, with a slight smirk on his face. He then walks over to Tamera's mirror with his daughter in his arms.

"What's happening daddy?" asked Tamera, as she looks around to where the others are but to no avail, for she only see's shadows.

"Look Tamera. You'll understand what I'm talking about." said Joseph, reaching the mirror and nodding towards it.

Tamera then does as her father said. To her utter amasement, she finds that it's not her that's in his arms, but that of anthropomorphic crow with some of her features. She then starts to cry and buries her face into Joseph's chest.

"What happened to me daddy?" asked Tamera, between sobs. "Why did I become a monster for?"

"Your not a monster, Tamera. Your the same little girl you always were just in a different package." Joseph answers,  
with a gentle smile. He then turns away from the mirror and looks into the shadows and see's eye shine from the others as they look at him. "For some reason yet unknown to even me, some of my energy got thrown out from me and got sucked into everyone's bodies. In normal terms, you all effectively got a small peice of me, my energy and my battle-form in you."

"What does that mean daddy?" asked Tamera, in a squeeky and raw voice from crying as she looks up at him.

"That means that you now got you own battle-forms, Tamera." said Joseph, gently running his hands through the thick feathers on Tamera's head. "Yours is of a crow or raven. Merle, yours it seems, is a tiger (I always knew you were vicious). Allen, yours is that of a horse. Van, yours is naturelly, a falcon. Hitomi, your a owl. King Maximillian is a lion. Queen Tabitha is a fox. While Millerna has that of a Gryphon."

Joseph then shifts into his battle-form and recieves gasps from everyone except from Merle.

"Don't ask about mine. Because I don't really know what it is." said Joseph in a deep voice and a chuckle. "All I can really tell you is that it's strong. Not to mention the creepiest of all the battle-forms."

"How do we go back to our normal forms though Joseph." asks Merle, stepping into the light to reveal her shredded night gown is hanging off of her, revealing alot of her two rather hairy breasts.

"Umm. Before I tell you Merle. You might want to put a blanket around you." said Joseph, putting one hand in front of his mouth to make sure no one see's him laughing. "In fact, all you ladies might want to do the same."

"Eeep." all four women say at the same time as they look down. They then run over to Tamera's bed with what remains of thier tattered clothes and each one crabs a part of the sheet, then puts it around them.

"You know." said Joseph, looking over to where Van is standing in the shadows with a raised eyebrow. "Normally I'd say some stupid comment about how they can feel the breeze. Buuut, I'm not going to touch that subject right now. Now, about the switching between the forms."

"Yeah, might as well get it over with, Joe." Hitomi calls over from the bed, blinking as she tilts her feathered head slightly to the right. "And while your at it. You might as well tell your little companion to calm down some. Either that or take a cold shower."

"I'll pretend that I didn't just hear that comment (and I thought I was sick). All I'll say is this: touche." said Joseph,  
turning away from the women. "Like I was saying. All you really have to do is picture what you looked like before the transformation, it's that easy."

"Seems easy enough for you." said King Maximillian, with a slight snarl. "But it's not for the rest of us."

Everyone closes thier eyes and start to concentrate. The only one who seems to be having the trouble doing that is Tamera, who's trying to shift in Joseph's arm.

"What's wrong, Tamera?" asked Joseph, looking down at his daughter as he's shifting back to his human form while she's squirming around.

"I'm having trouble doing what you said to do, daddy." said Tamera, opening her eyes and looking into Joseph's eyes with sorrow in hers.

"Here. Let me help." said Joseph, placing a hand on Tamera's forehead. After a couple of seconds, Tamera's back to her normal human self, except for the torn and blood stained shirt. "There we go. back to the little girl that I know and love."

"Thank you daddy." said Tamera, looking down at her human body. Then she looks at Joseph and throws her arms around Joseph's neck and hugs him. "Your the best."

"No problem." said Joseph, he then turns and looks at the others. "Is everyone back to normal?"

"Yes. The women are back to normal, Joseph." said the now normal Merle, looking at the other now-human women with a smirk on her face.

"What about you three? you back to your human selves??" asked Joseph, looking at Van and the others.

"As human as we were before, Joseph." said King Maximillian, as he comes out of the shadows, trying to hold his torn and shredded pants and shirt together. "How did it happen? How did we do that??"

"Well. I don't honestly know, King Maximillian. But there's one thing for certain." said Joseph, putting Tamera down on the ground and sending her to get changed.

"Which is?" asked the king, raising an eyebrow.

"The women. Looks like they're getting cold." said Joseph, stepping out of the way and blushing. "And if they don't go get changed now, then I'll be the one who's going to be embarressed for looking at them while they were in the partial nude."

Just as he says that, there's four gusts of wind and the door slams shut behind the women. The men just smile at Joseph and walk over to the door. They then open the door and leave Joseph and Tamera in the room alone.

"Hey Tamera." said Joseph, turns slightly into Tamera's direction.

"Yes daddy?" asked Tamera, walking over to Joseph and wearing a new night gown, placing a hand on her fathers arm.

"I want you to come and stay in mine and your mothers room for tonight." said Joseph, looking down at his daughter with a small smile on his face. He then glances around the room. "It's better that your with me tonight."

"Okey daddy." answers Tamera, as she gently places her hand into Joseph's.

After a couple of seconds, the two of them go walking out of the room and down the hall to Joseph's and Merle's room hand in hand.

*************************************

The next morning, Joseph hears a slight ruffle of fabric being rubbed against something else from over by the mirror. After a couple of seconds, he hears it again and opens his eyes to see Tamera standing in front of the mirror,  
in her crow battle-form and with her wings spread out behind her while she has the nightgown covering her chest.

"Merle. Wake up." Joseph whispers into his wife's left ear. "You'll want to see this."

"Hmm?" asks Merle, blinking her eyes open. She then looks into Tamera's direction. "How sweet."

"Having fun with your new body, Tamera?" Joseph calls over to Tamera, smiling.

"What?" asks Tamera, spinning around and see's her adopted parents watching her. "Sorry if I woke you up daddy."

"No problem Tamera. You might as get used to having two forms instead of one. After all, I'm used to mine." he answered, getting out of bed. "How do you feel in you new body, today?"

"It feels so... strange. Yet so ..." said Tamera, looking back into the mirror and tilting her head to the left. All the while she's thinking up the right word.

"Let me guess: It feels so right. Right?" asked Joseph, walking over and placing a hand on Tamera's feather covered shoulder. "I know how you feel. I felt the same way when I first got mine."

"Really daddy?" asked Tamera, turning around and facing Joseph.

"Yes really. Now I want you to promise me something, Tamera." said Joseph, kneeling down in front of his daughter.

"What?" she asked, trying to smile as best she can with the beak.

"I want you to promise me," said Joseph, looking into her eyes. "that you will only use this form as a last ditch effort in case of emergencies."

"Yes daddy." said Tamera, nodding. "I promise to do as you say."

"That's my little girl." said Joseph, ruffling Tamera's feathers as he gets up. "Now change into your human form and get changed."

********************************

A little later, Joseph, Merle and Tamera walk into the dinning room to find that the only things in there is the food.  
The three of them go walking over to the table, Joseph is glancing around the whole time.

"That's odd." said Joseph, sitting down at the table with his wife and daughter. "I wonder where the others are."

"They could be still in bed, daddy." said Tamera, as she starts to gather food up onto her plate to eat.

A few minutes later, the three of them hear a yawn from the door to the dining room. Joseph turns to find King Maximillian standing there in his battle-form.

"Pardon me your majesty. But you may want to look down at yourself," said Joseph, turning back around. "before someone see's you."

"Hmm?" asked King Maximillian, as he looks down at himself. "Oh my. Your right Joseph, thankyou."

"No problem, King Maximillian." said Joseph, as he continues to eat. "Must have been a rough night for you and your wife. Must have also been entertaining."

King Maximillian just walks further into the room, while changing into his human form, to let the others stumble into the room, as if in a daze.

"I don't know about you guy's." said Hitomi, flopping down in her chair and rubbing her eyes. "But me and Van could hardly sleep a wink last night."

"That's strange." said Joseph, looking at the others. "Me, Merle, and Tamera had a peaceful nights sleep, last night.  
Especially Tamera, since she was the most effected by what happened. Besides, you should be glad that you don't have a zoo running around inside you."

"Joseph's right." said Queen Tabitha, nodding in agreement. "Out of all of us, he has got it the worst."

"I'm happy, though." said Tamera, taking a sip of water from her cup.

"Why's that?" asked Hitomi, looking over at Tamera.

"Well." said Tamera, taking another sip of water and then grinning. "It's because I'm a birdie and I always wanted to fly."

"And you always have your head up in the clouds." said Joseph, taking a sip of wine and gets a stern look from Tamera. "I'm glad for that, though. It shows perservernce and a good imagination."

*************************************

That afternoon, Tamera comes rushing into the room and over to Joseph and hugs him, while he's writing things down on a large roll of paper.

"Daddy." said Tamera, gently tugging on Joseph's arm after releasing him from the hug.

"Yes Tamera? what can I do for you??" Joseph asks, looking down at Tamera.

"I was wondering if you could show me how to use my wings?" Tamera asks, giving Joseph a sweet smile, knowing full well how that smile affects him.

"You know something, Tamera?" asked Joseph, getting up after a couple of seconds thought and lifts Tamera up and carries her out of the room.

"What daddy?" she asked, looking at him.

"That's not a bad idea you have." he said, glancing at her and smiles. "In fact, that's such a great idea that I wish I had thought of it."

"Thankyou daddy." said Tamera, giving her father a hug around the neck almost choking him.

A few minutes later, Joseph and Tamera are standing in the courtyard with the others.

"You won't believe this but, Tamera just had a great idea." Joseph said, as he puts Tamera down on the ground.

"Well. What is it?" asked Hitomi, smiling as she tries to coax it out of him..

"Well, a few minutes ago, she had asked me if I could show her 'how to use her wings.'" said Joseph, with a smile on his lips. "Now if you ask me, she brought up a good point. Maybe I should train you all on how to use your second forms."

"Sounds like a plan to me." said Van, shrugging.

"All that we have to do is figure out where we can do the workout." said Joseph, looking from one person to the other. "Any suggestion?"

"What about the field that the Crusade is in?" suggested Allen, looking at Joseph, then turns to King Maximillian.

"Sounds like a good enough spot." said King Maximillian, shrugging as he looks from Allen to Joseph. "Shall we go?"

"Okey then." said Joseph, nodding his head. "It's decided, we'll use the field beside the crusade. You all had better get ready and make sure that you use your most expandable clothes. For those of you who have wings though, you might want to cut some holes into them with fabric hanging down over the holes so you don't have to worry about having to change clothes all the time."

"Good point, Joseph." said Queen Tabitha, nodding her head. "But we don't have any clothes like that."

"What about old traveling clothes?" asked Joseph, looking at Queen Tabitha with a slightly cocked eyebrow.

"Well, I know that I have some old traveling clothes that I could use." said Millerna, as the others nod thier heads in agreement as they realise that they all have some old clothes that they could use with out worry.

"Okey then, it's agreed then." said Joseph, looking over the group. "We'll all get changed into the old clothes and meet back out here in about half an hour."

About half an hour later, when the group is gathered, King Max calls for a couple of horse and carriages as Joseph climbs onto the cyclone with both Merle and Tamera climbing into the side car. A little while later, they finally get to where the Crusade is and climb out to stand in the field. King Max then dismisses the carriages back to the city after telling them to come back for them in a couple of hours.

"Well now that we're all gathered here, Joseph. What do we do now?" asked the queen, as she watches Joseph.  
"After all, your the one who has the most experience in this."

"Hold on, your majesty." said Joseph, he then turns to look at Allen. "Are any of your men on the ship, Allen?"

"They're all in the city, Joseph. So we don't have to worry about any of them bothering us." said Allen, looking at Joseph, while nodding his head.

"Good." said Joseph, as he turns to look at the group. "As to your question, queen Tabitha. We now should all shift into our second forms before we do anything else."

By the time Joseph says that, Tamera is all ready in her battle-form and fluttering her wings as the others shift into thiers. Once he knows that they're all in thier battle-forms, Joseph shifts into his as he's nodding his head while a sly grin plays on his face.

"Well, let's get started shall we?" said Joseph, in his deep scrachy voice as he looks from one person to the other.

"Umm, Joseph?" Millerna asked, as she looks down at herself before looking over at him. She then flutters her wings.

"Yes Millerna?" Joseph asks, looking over at her while twirling his six arms around.

"Why is it that your wings seem to be alot bigger then ours for?" Millerna asked, glancing at the others in the group before glancing down at herself. She then looks back at Joseph. "In fact, the whole of your battleform seems to be more larger then ours. How can you explain that?"

"I don't actually know the answer to that, Millerna." said Joseph, as he glances at the others before looking down at himself. "Actually, I think that your right. But the only thing that comes to mind is that where as you all have either one pair of arms and one pair of wings, you would be smaller built then me. Where as I have three pairs of arms and two pairs of wings, I'd of course have to be larger built then you all, Millerna."

"Can I learn how to fly now, daddy?" Tamera asks, looking up at her father with a slight twinkle in her eyes.

"I can't see why not, Tamera." said Joseph, smiling down at his daughter and winks at her causing her to burst out into giggles.

**********************************

That night, when the group gets back to the castle, Joseph carries a sleeping Tamera into thier bedroom with Merle walking in behind him, yawning.

"It looks like Tamera had fun." said Merle, bringing her hand away from her mouth. "Otherwise, she wouldn't be asleep."

"Tell me about it." said Joseph, as he puts Tamera into her bed as Merle starts to get changed into her nightgown.  
"But I'm a little surprised at how well she did in the usuage of her wings. Did you see the look on Allen's face when Millerna crashed into him though?"

"Yeah, I seen it, Joseph." said Merle, yawning again. "But what I'm more surprised about is how fast I am when I'm in my battleform."

"You sure as hell surprised me, that's for sure." said Joseph, walking up behind his wife while giving her a goofy grin before giving her a kiss on the neck. "But for now, I just want to sleep."

"Do you hear me argueing with you?" said Merle, smiling at her husband's reflection in the mirror. "Because I'm not going to."

"Want to have some fun tomorrow when Tamera goes out and plays?" asked Joseph, while kissing Merle on the neck over and over again. "I'll even give you a massage, if your stiff. If you want that is."

"We'll see." said Merle, after letting out a soft moan. "O god that feels so good."

**********************************

Three months later, during supper. Merle turns and looks at Joseph.

"Hey honey. I need to tell you something." she said, with a slightly worried look on her face.

"What's wrong, Merle?" Joseph asks, turning and see's the worried look. "Are you okey??"

"Well. you better be prepared for what I'm about to tell you." she said, looking down at her plate.

"Oookey." said Joseph, looking at everyone and is met by silence.

"I'm pregnant." she said, looking over at Joseph with a smile after gathering up her courage.

"You mean that your...? With who...?? When did it...??? Who's is....???? Oh man." said Joseph in a flurry of words as he jumps up and runs over to his wife, and kisses her.

"Well. I do know one thing." Merle said, after Joseph kisses her. "I know that your the father. I've been suspecting that something like this for the last two months."

"I'm so happy at the moment, that I can't find the words that will fit right." said Joseph, looking down at Merle.

"Yeah." said Tamera, running over to her parents and hugging her parents. "I'm going to have a new brother or sister."

End of Part 7: The truth.  
By Rathorc Lemenger!!

To Be Continued in: Part 8: The Run.


	10. The Run

Attack of the New Zaibach Part 8: The Run By Rathorc Lemenger!!

(Authors note 1: Please don't sue me for any and all copyrighted characters. All other characters that are not in the original story line belong to me.)

One beautiful, warm and sunny day, (three months after part 7), Joseph is laying on his back with a hat covering his face, on a beach at the ocean. All of a sudden, a flurry of birds erupt from the dune grass nearby, squaking and screeching. A couple of seconds later, a shadowed form zooms out from behind one of the dunes nearby and flies at a rapid pace towards Joseph, going so fast that it's only a blur.

Just as the form reaches the area where Joseph is laying at, he vanishes as if never there. He then reappears a couple of steps behind the figure, standing and fixing the hat that he had on his face when he was laying on the ground.

"What's up Tamera?" Joseph asks, as the blur slows down to reveal that it's Tamera in her battle-form.

"Th-the castle is under attack, daddy." Tamera cries, turning to face her father with tears steaming down her feather-covered cheeks. "Mommy got out of the city with the others. Mr. Van sent me to come and get you and to tell you that the Harold is loaded onto the ship with the other Gaimelfs."

"Okey. Just calm down." said Joseph, switching over to his battle-form for the added speed and putting his headset on, that he had in the pocket of his now stretched and torn shirt. He then grabs Tamera and puts her onto his back so she can hold onto him as they zoom through the air. "Hold on tightly to me, kiddo. We're going supersonic."

"Yes daddy." Tamera answers as the two of them disappear as if they were never there.

A minute later, Both Joseph and Tamera reappear beside the newly renovated ship. They fly over to the front of the ship and look into the bridge and as Joseph looks in he see's Van, Allen, and King Maximillian standing there talking. Joseph then turns his headset on and catches the attention of all three of them, he then motions for them to turn on thier headsets.

"Is everyone safe?" Joseph asks, after a couple of seconds wait.

"Yes Joseph. everyones safely aboard." said Van, looking around the bridge. "But..."

"I don't like that 'but', Van." said Joseph, looking into the bridge as Tamera is sitting on his back, waving at the others on the bridge. "What Happened?"

"It's Merle." said King Maximillian, looking straight at Joseph. "She's been badly hurt."

"WHAT?" Joseph yelled over the headsets, getting even more angry then they ever seen him before and causing them all to flinch. "I'm coming in."

A few minutes later, Joseph and Tamera arrive at the room that Merle's in.

"Where is she?" Joseph asked, stomping into the room still in his battle-form. "Where is my wife?"

"I'm over here, Joseph." said Merle, from the bed where she's sitting up in while holding onto her bulging stomach.  
"Don't worry."

"Are you all right Merle?" Joseph asked, rushing over to his wife and looking at the bandages on her head and shoulder. He then looks at the cuts and bruises covering her upper body. "How bad are you hurt? Are the babies alright??"

"It looks worse then it is, Joseph." said Millerna, as she walks into the room with a dish of warm water.

"Is there anything broken?" he asked, taking Merle's good hand in one of his and looking at Millerna.

"Her left leg is the only thing that's broken on her." answered Millerna, putting the dish on a nearby desk. "A beam ended up colapseing onto it while Van and Allen were helping her to the ship."

"Merle." said Joseph, kneeling beside his wife and looking into her deep blue eyes. "Please let me heal you."

"I don't want to ask that of you, Joseph." Merle said, gently squeesing Joseph's hand with love and pain. "I know that you hate seeing me like this. But you have to let me heal on my own."

"As you wish, Merle." said Joseph, looking down at the floor with tears running down his furry cheeks. He then looks back up at Merle after a couple of seconds. "At least let me set the brake."

"That you can do, sweetheart." said Merle, lifting Joseph's chin and wiping the tears from his eyes.

"Thank-you Merle." said Joseph, looking at her with love in his eyes from her strength and pain at seeing her hurt so badly. "I'll make it as painless as possible."

**********************

That night, Joseph is laying in bed with Merle on one side of him and Tamera on the other. Each taking a shoulder of his. Joseph is just laying there wide awake, thinking as his wife and daughter are sleeping in his arms. A half hour later he dicides on what to do. He closes his eyes and starts to glow. Suddenly, all the cuts, scrapes and bruises disappear from Merle only to reappear on Joseph.

Joseph then starts to breath heavily as he feels the injuries on Merle's head, shoulders and the broken bone in her left leg appear on, and in, him. He then let's out a sigh of relief as his newly aquired wounds suddenly heal. As the glow fades, he looks down and see's a newly healed Merle wide awake and looking up at him.

"You were right, Merle." Joseph whispered, smiling at his wife. "I did hate seeing you like that."

"Oh Joseph." said Merle, laying her head back down on his shoulder, as her hair tickles his nose and her familiar smell sweeping every doubt out of his mind. "You know you didn't have to do that. You could have let me heal it on my own."

"I know, Merle. But you, Tamera and our twins are dear to my heart." said Joseph, and putting a hand on Merle's large stomach and gently scans the twins. "I don't want anything to happen to my family."

"Let's just sleep. We'll talk about this in the morning." said Merle, placing her head closer to his body for the warmth and security.

"Sounds good to me, beautiful." said Joseph, stroking her long, pink hair as he slowly let's sleep over take him.

******************************

The next Morning, Joseph is awakened by a heavy thump. Looking around, he finds that the sound woke both Merle and Tamera up. A few seconds later, there's another thump, which is followed by a sharp jolt.

"What was that daddy?" Tamera asked, as Joseph gets out of bed and walks over to the window, then looks out.

"We've just landed, kiddo." said Joseph, walking over to his clothes and starts putting them on. "I'll go find out why. I want the two of you to stay here until I say that it's okey to come out."

"Be careful, dear." Merle calls out, as Joseph walks out of the room and down the hall.

"You know I will." he calls back.

A few minutes later, Joseph finally gets to the bridge and see's Van and Allen fighting about something. King Maximillian is there trying to keep them seperate with a couple members of the bridge crew, before fists start to fly.

"Why did we land?" asked Joseph, as he walks over to where the three men are. "And what's with the fighting??"

"I don't know Joseph." said King Max, calling out over the yelling and glancing over at his friend. "All I know about the fighting, is that it has to do with us landing."

"I don't honestly care what you think, Van." Allen yells, pointing a finger at Van. "When your on my ship, you have duties to perform."

Just as Joseph reaches the three men, Van calls Allen the worst name that Joseph's ever heard him call Allen. Upon hearing Van say it, Allen throws a fist in Van's direction. But instead of hitting Van, the fist nails Joseph in the cheek. The force of the blow jerks Joseph's head in Van's direction and sends him sprawling onto the floor, knocking him unconcious.

"Damn. That stung." said Joseph, coming to a minute later, and staggers to his feet. He then turns towards Allen,  
Van, and King Maximillian, as they're giving him worried looks. "What the hell was that for? I know that we're friends, but that's a lousy way to show your friendship."

"Are you okey Joseph?" Allen asked, walking over to Joseph. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hit you."

"Yeah. No problem." said Joseph, rubbing his cheek as he quickly heals it. "I've been through worse. Damn, allen.  
You hit damn hard. Now will one of you please explain to me why we landed in the first place and why the two of you were fighting?"

"Well. It was either us landing or having the engines overload and blow, causing us to crash."said Allen, glaring at Van as he walks over to the bridges window. "Van was saying that we should keep on going to avoid any Ziabach surprises."

"Your both right." said Joseph, after a minutes consideration. "We could, and can, do both."

"How?" asked all three men at once, as they turn to face Joseph.

"Something that I like to call: the Hidden Dragon Procedure." Joseph said, with a smile as he walks out of the bridge. "Be right back, fella's."

A few minutes later, as he walks past his room, he pops his head in.

"Everythings fine." he said, as he see's Merle and Tamera turn to look at him. "Allen didn't want to risk an engine overload."

"Where are you headed to?" Merle asks, as Joseph disappears again.

"Gotta get something from the Harold." Joseph's voice drifts back to them.

Later, when Joseph gets back to the bridge, he's carrying a sack and a small electronic device of a strange shape and design.

"What in the world is in that sack?" asked King Maximillian, looking at the bag.

"This, my compadre, is 'the Hidden Dragon Procedure.'" said Joseph, placing the items on the floor. "It consists of a specially made tarp full of micro-chips and nano-bots. And then there's this."

Joseph then holds up the device, grinning from ear to ear.

"What is it daddy?" Tamera asks, coming over to her father to take a closer look at the strange device.

"This is the one and only device that the Zaibach Gaimelf's use to vanish." he answered, smiling and holding it as if it was a sacred object. "And when it's used with the tarp, it'll cause this ship and everything else under it, to vanish."

"How did you get your hands on that?" Van asked, coming over to look at it. "And how do you intend to power it??"

"Well, I grabbed it out of one of the Zaibach mecha before we demolished them." said Joseph, putting it back down.  
"I can power it using the Harold's systems or even using a couple of extra batteries that came with the Harold."

"How long will it take to set it up?" asked Allen, turning around in order to look at Joseph. "And how much room will it take up?"

"It'll take about....." Joseph then looks down at his watch. "Five minutes to set up with help. Room-wise, it'll take up a good three hundred square feet, unfolded. Just enough for it to be draped over and cover the entire ship."

"Then set it up." Allen said, looking over at his friend with genuine respect. "Take Gadis and five other men."

"Oh, before I forget." said Joseph, picking up the items. "I fixed it up so that it doubles as a holographic field."

"What's that?" asked Merle, tilting her head a little to the right. "What on Gea is a 'holographic field?'"

"Meaning , we can make the top of the tarp and anything under it, look like whatever we want." said Joseph,  
winking down at Tamera. "Even a big teddy bear. Just like yours Tamera. or a part of a forest if we land in a clearing such as this."

"Really you can do that daddy??" Tamera asked, looking up at her father with surprise on her small face, who just stands there nodding.

"You bet your buttons that I can do that." he said, grinning from ear to ear. He then walks off the bridge, dragging a struggling Gadis behind him. "Come on Gadis. Let's get to work, pal."

***************************

After a few minutes of putting the tarp onto the crusade, Joseph happens to turn and finds that there's a strange silence from the woods.

"Gadis." Joseph calls out, as he slowly backs to the ship.

"Yeah Joseph?" he calls back from the other side. "What is it?"

"Is it just me, or did it just get a little too quite all of a sudden?" Joseph calls out, pulling out Malisk while looking around.

"Your right, Joseph. It's too quite." Gadis said, as he comes walking over to Joseph.

Just then, two shadowed forms come running out of the forest yapping and barking. A couple seconds later,  
Joseph is bowled over by them and has his face licked.

"G-get off me.... *sputter* you can stop licking me." said Joseph, as he reconizes them as his two dogs (who are both whining) from Earth. "Flow, Dutch. Get off me."

"You okey Joseph?" Gadis asks, as Joseph gets up off the ground when both of his dogs get off him. "Who and what are these creatures?"

"I'll explain in a minute or so." Joseph said, he then pulls the microphone to his headset down beside his mouth.  
"Hey Van?"

"What is it Joseph?" Van asks over the headset. "Is there a problem out there??"

"Everythings fine, Van." Joseph answers, reaching down and patting his dogs. "But I was wondering if you and the others could come out here for a minute."

"Sure." Van answers, after a couple of seconds of silence. "We're on our way."

"Thanks." Joseph said, as he smiles down at Flow and dutch. He then lifts the microphone from his mouth and looks down at the dogs. "Sit."

Just as he says that, both Flow and Dutch sit on the ground, with thier tongues hanging out. A couple of minutes later, when the others come walking out, Flow let's out a sharp bark, which causes everyone to stop in thier tracks.

"Flow. Calm down." Joseph said, in a cool voice as he looks at Flow. He then looks at the others, all of whom are staring down at the two dogs. "I'd like you all to meet my two dogs from earth."

"What are they're names Joseph?" Hitomi asks, as she walks over and starts to pat both dogs while Tamera hides behind Merle.

"Well." Joseph said, bending down between them. He then pat's the mini-german shepard on the head. "This is Flower. Flow for short and this" he then pats the golden furred German shepard/corky on the head. "is Dutchess.  
Dutch for short."

"Do they bite daddy?" Tamera asks, poking her head from around the now hissing Merle.

"Well. I would tell you yes, but these two are just big babbies." Joseph answered as he starts to rub they're stomachs. This then causes both Flow and Duch to to flop down on they're backs and lift they're legs in the air and kick the air in pure joy. "You know Tamera. You can come over and pat them if you like."

"Really daddy? Can I?" Tamera asks, stepping out from behind Merle.

"Yep. They may bark at you for a few days, but once they get used to you they won't do anything." Joseph said,  
smiling. He then looks up at the still hissing Merle. "You can calm down now Merle. They're only animals."

"Thank you daddy." Tamera said, as she comes over with a large smile on her face.

Upon seeing Tamera come over, both Flow and Dutch flip over onto thier stomach's, then getting to thier feet, they put they're heads down and let Tamera pat them. After a minute of having her pat them, both Flow and Dutch knock Tamera down and start to lick the giggling child on the face.

"They won't hurt her, will they?" Merle asks, as she calms down and watches the two dogs and Tamera start to play together.

"Nah." said Joseph, coming over and puts a arm over Merle's shoulder. "Like I said. They're just big babies. The only thing that they'll do is maybe chew up some shoes or something. If you want to, you can consider them my little sisters."

"Really?" asked King Maximillian, coming over. "To tell you the truth Joseph. They're both beautiful creatures."

Once that's said, everyone in the group nod they're heads in agreement. Tamera then starts to run across the field,  
giggling with pure joy, with both of the dogs jumping and leaping beside her.

"How'd they get here I wonder?" asked Hitomi, after a few minutes of watching Tamera and the two dogs playing.

"Probably the same way we did, Hitomi." said Joseph, looking over at his friend. "But to tell you the truth. It amazes me on how they survived here for so long. Probably were eating field mice or something."

Just then, Tamera comes running over to the group crying. Looking around Joseph doesn't see his two dogs anywhere.

"What's wrong Tamera?" Joseph asked, kneeling down in front of Tamera. "Why are you crying for??"

"There's a mean man back there daddy." Tamera sobs, pointing back the way she came and then putting her chin into Joseph's chest. "The two doggies started to bark at him and I got scared and ran away."

"Okey. Shh. Daddy will go get the dogs and take care of the man who scared my little girl." said Joseph, as he stands up. He then hands Tamera over to Merle. "Take care of her please, Merle. I'll go take care of this."

"Sure, Joseph." said Merle, as she takes Tamera from Joseph. She then starts to stroke Tamera's back in order to calm her down.

Joseph then disappears and reappears in the woods where he seen Tamera run from. As he looks around, he finds the tracks from Flow and Dutch, he then spots the tracks of the man that had scared Tamera so badly. All of a sudden, Joseph feels a slight pressure on the back of his head.

"Don't move or you'll die." said a stern male voice, from behind him.

"Hey wait a sec." said Joseph, looking out of the corner of his eye. "I reconize that voice from somewhere."

"Well, I don't know where we could have met, pal, before this point." said the man as he pokes his head into Joseph's line of sight. The man has a black, fluffy mustache with grey shots through it and a black coloured goatee growning on his chin. "Care to explain to me why your on my land?"

"Jesus, old man." said Joseph, looking at him from the corner of his eye. "Don't you reconise your own son, or have you just grown more dense and senile since I last seen you?"

"J-Joseph? Is that you??" asked the man, taking the gun from Joseph's head. He then studies Joseph. "How the hell did you get here?"

"Hell yeah, it's me." said Joseph, turning and facing his father. Rubbing his head where the gun was pressed against it all the while. "I got here when I got sucked up in a beam of bright light. You probably got here the same way, I suspect."

Just then, Joseph's father takes his son's hand and pulls Joseph to him and hugs him.

"The last time I saw you was over a year and a half ago. You were gone for a month and a half before I ended up here." said the man, after a minute of hugging the man pulls away and studies Joseph. "How have you been?"

"Good." said Joseph, looking around for a couple of seconds. Joseph then looks at his father with a stern look on him. "Dad. Can you do a small favor for me?"

"Sure. What is it?" Joseph's father asks, looking at Joseph's stern face.

"Can you please come over to the ship and say that your sorry for scaring my daughter?" Joseph asked, nodding back to the ship.

"Your daughter?" he asked, sounding surprised and recieves a nod from Joseph. "You mean that little girl? she's you kid??"

"Yeah, she's my daughter, alright. Correction. She's my adopted daughter. You scared her pretty badly when you jumped out of the bushes." said Joseph, as he leads the way back to the ship.

Once they get to the field, Joseph leads his father over to where the others are standing.

"Hey Tamera. Is this the guy that scared you?" Joseph asked as he reaches the group.

"Yes daddy." Tamera said, nodding her head before burying her face into Merle's shoulder.

"I'm sorry for scaring you like that child." Joseph's father said, looking sincerly sorry. "As a apology. Why don't all of you come and stay the night with me."

"Before I forget to mention. This man is my father." said Joseph, taking Tamera from Merle. "So that means that he's your grandfather, Tamera."

"Really daddy?" asked Tamera, as she looks into Joseph's eyes.

"Yep." Joseph answered, giving Tamera a quick wink. "Although he may be scary and mean looking, he's really nice."

"Who's this now?" asked Joseph's father walking over to Merle, who's blushing like crazy.

"That's my wife, Merle. The others are my good friends: King Van Fanel, Queen Hitomi Fanel, Allen Schezar,  
princess Millerna Aston, King Maximillian Mahoose, Queen Tabitha Mahoose and Gadis." Joseph said, turning around to face the others. "And before you ask, King Maximillian. My father's name is Calvin Edwin."

"Nice to meet you all." said Calvin, looking at everyone. He then comes over to where Joseph's standing. "I take it that it was you? And how did you get on the good side of two kings and two queens and a princess??"

"Don't know what you mean dad." said Joseph, as Merle comes over and takes Joseph's arm, as they all start walking and following Calvin back to his cabin.

"Your the father of the child in Merle's stomach?" Calvin asked, glancing at Joseph.

"Yep. I am that." said Joseph as he gives Merle a large kiss on the lips. "And I'm proud of it."

After a few minutes walk, Calvin leads Joseph and the group down a small path, along the way, Flow and Dutch come racing towards them which causes Tamera to let out a happy screech of joy. A few minutes later, they reach the end of the trail and see a cabin of a fair size. Around the cabin is a fair sized fence, with a large gate in the front.

"Honey, we're ho-ome." Calvin calls out. "And we've got guests that you might want to come out and meet."

"What are you......" a woman asks, coming out. Upon seeing the group, she stops. But when she see's Joseph, she goes silent.

"Hi mom." said Joseph, smiling at his mother. He then puts Tamera down onto the ground and holds out his arms in greeting. "How have you been?"

"J-Joseph?" asks Joseph's mother, before she comes racing into his arms, with tears streaming down from her eyes.  
She then wraps her arms around his chest. "My god... Joseph."

"Calm down. Calm down mom, everything is going to be fine." said Joseph, feeling tears streaming down his cheeks.

After a minute of crying, Joseph feels a slight tug on his pants. He looks down and see's Tamera staring up at him in wonder.

"Yes Tamera?" he asked, with a gentle smile. "What is it??"

"Who is she, daddy?" Tamera asked, watching him. She then glances in Merle's direction. "I think mommy is mad at you daddy."

"Hmm?" Joseph asks, looking over at Merle and finally see's that she's fuming. "It's not what you think, Merle."

"Oh really now?" Merle asks, glaring at Joseph's mother. "Why are you holding onto my husband so tightly for??"

"Oh no." said Joseph's mom, as she sounds amazed, backing away from Joseph as she glances from Joseph to Merle and back again. "Your married now? And your a father??"

"I'll explain everything later on to you guys." said Joseph, smiling. "But for now, I want to know how you got here and if the kids came along."

*******************************

"So that's what happened." said Joseph, sitting in what goes for the dining room.

Joseph, Calvin and Elaina are sitting in silence. After a couple of seconds of silence, Elaina turns and looks at her son.

"So. Your a duke of King Maximillian's country and your a general?" said Elaina, looking after a few seconds of silence.

"That's the jest of it, mom." he answered, smiling as he hears both Tamera and Merle laughing from outside. "Not to mention that I'm a expected father of twins."

"Must be pretty tough for you, having those powers from the sword and not being able to tell anyone." said Calvin,  
looking out the window.

"One such as me gets used to these things, dad." said Joseph, shrugging. "But I'm happy with it because it gives me that added responsibility. Not to mention that it makes life for me that much more interesting."

"Well. Why don't you and your family stay the night, dear." said Elaina, gently smiling at her son. "Gives me time to get to know my granddaughter and my daughter-in-law."

"Well." said Joseph, thinking it over. "I don't really know what the ladies would say about that, mom. But I don't see a bad idea with it."

"I don't see why not, Joseph." said Merle, from the doorway.

"What?" Joseph asked, as he turns to find Merle and Tamera both standing there. "Are you sure about that, you two?"

"Yes daddy." said Tamera, running in and sits down on Elaina's lap. "Besides. I want to get to know my grand-  
mommy."

"Well then. I guess that it's settled." said Joseph, getting up.

"In fact. Why don't all your friends stay the night?" said Elaina, smiling as she looks down at Tamera.

"I'll ask them." said Joseph, heading out the door. "But before I do, I have to take care of something."

"Which is?" Merle asked, as Joseph passes by her and kisses her on the cheek.

"Well." said Joseph, heading out the door. "I'm going to bring the Harold here. Should have enough room to move around."

After a little while, the people at the cabin hear a dull roar. Every passing moment, the roar grows in strength. A few minutes later, everyone comes running out as the Epsilon Harold settles down in the clearing in Guardian mode. A minute passes, before the canopy lifts up and Joseph jumps down onto the ground and takes off his thinking cap.

************************************

The next morning, as the sun rises, a delicious aromas fill the cabin. In the background, Joseph is heard humming to himself along with the snap and crackling of meat in the fire and the whistling of a kettle. After a little while,  
Tamera comes walking into the kitchen and see's her father standing over a cutting board with some cooked meat and chopped up vegitables.

"Morning daddy." Tamera says, walking over to the table and wiping the sleep from her eyes. "What's for breakfast?"

"Hey sweety." said Joseph, putting some of the meat and vegi's onto a plate, which he puts in front of her. "Well, I thought that I'd surprise everyone by making breakfast. I'm using one of King Max's chiefs recipe's. Care to tell me how it tastes?"

"Okey daddy." Tamera answers and puts a piece of the meat into her mouth. After a couple of seconds of chewing,  
she then swallows it and looks up at Joseph. "It tastes strange, daddy. But it's yummy."

"That's because I had put some herbs in with the meat as I cooked it on the fire." said Joseph, smiling down at Tamera. "You better go get the others up for breakfast."

"Okey daddy." Tamera answers with a gentle smile. She then gets up out of her chair and wakes the others up.

As the people start to file in, they smell the food cooking and the wonderful smell of Joseph's semi-famous mint tea.

"Wow. What's all this?" asked Elaina, sitting at the table as Joseph puts the plates in front of everyone at the table.  
He then passes some food to everyone who's standing. "Are you trying to spoil us??"

"Well. It's breakfast of course." said Joseph, as he gives Flow and Dutch the bones from the meat. "Try it and tell me if you like it."

After taking a couple of bites, everyone gasps at how good it tastes. Merle then gets up from her chair and walks over to Joseph. She then gives him a kiss on the lips, and tells him that it tastes perfect.

"It's even better then my cooks." said King Maximillian, turning to Joseph. "How'd you manage to cook this without all those spices that we had at the castle??"

"Well. Just call it experimenting. I went out this morning and found some hot peppers and green peppers, that's what gives it the tangy and the slight spicy taste." said Joseph, as he starts to eat from his plate. "I got some Mint tea on the stove if anyone wants some."

"Mmmm. Mint tea." Tamera said, as she walks over to the stove. She then turns and looks up at Joseph. "Can I please have some daddy?"

"You sure can, Tamera. I'll get you a cup." said Joseph as he walks over to where the mugs are and grabs one down.  
He then walks over to the stove and pours some mint tea for Tamera. But before he hands it to her, he bends down.  
"Better not forget, Tamera."

"Oh daddy." Tamera said, she then throws her arms around Joseph's neck and gives him a kiss on the cheek.  
"Thank-you daddy for the tea."

Tamera then takes the tea from Joseph and walks over to the table and sits down.

"How in the world did you manage to make Tea here?" asked Elaina, turning and looking at her son. "I didn't think that this place had tea, let alone mint leaves."

"There's only certain times and places that you have to look for the tea leaves, mom." said Joseph, pouring himself some. "It seems that the area around the cabin, here, is a perfect place for various herbs and spices to grow, and in fair amount of quanties. Not to mention that there's mint leaves all over the place."

"Well. There's one thing for sure." said Merle, smiling and giving Joseph a wink. "He knows how to treat a woman."

"Can you blame me for trying to please my wife?" said Joseph, he then recieves agreements from all the men and smiles from all the women. "Besides, everyone here seems to know that I pull my fair share."

"More so." said King Maximillian. He then turns to look at both Elaina and Calvin. "Your son has made many allies for us, and he's probably the strongest fighter out of all of us."

"Hey, King Maximillian." said Joseph, as King Max turns to look at him. "You better be careful."

"Why's that Joseph?" asks King Maximillian, looking at Joseph.

"My ego's starting to inflate." said Joseph, grinning from ear to ear. "That's why."

End Of Part 8 By Rathorc Lemenger!! 


	11. Tamera's Wrath

Attack of the New Zaibach: Part 9: Tamera's wrath.  
By Rathorc Lemenger!!

(Authors note 1: Please don't sue me for any and all copyrighted characters. All other characters that are not in the original story line belong to me.)

(Approximatly six to eight months after part 8)

"Don't know about you guys, but I find that today is perfect." said Joseph, as he's working on the Epsilon.  
"Couldn't get any better then this."

"What do you mean, Joseph?" Allen asked, looking down from the knee of his giamelf.

"Well." said Joseph, climbing into the cockpit. "It's sunny, clear and there's a nice breeze. Not to mention that there's been no sign of Zaibach for the last two or three weeks."

"I guess that your right." said Van, from the other side of the Harold as Joseph starts to whistle.

"Lunchtime gentlemen." Queen Tabitha calls from the cabin.

"We're coming." Allen calls out.

Five minutes later, there's a loud bang from the outside. This causes Joseph to bang his head on the console.

"Shit. What the hell?" Joseph asked, looking over the edge of the cockpit and rubbing his head. Looking down, he see's Merle standing there and holding one of the twins in her arm. "What is it Merle?"

"Didn't you hear Queen Tabitha say that it's lunch time?" Merle asked, giving Joseph a stern look. "Now come down and join us."

"No problem, sweetheart." Joseph said, climbing out and jumping to the ground. He then nods towards the little bundle. "Who's that?"

"Your daughter, of course. Do you want to carry her?" Merle asked, as she starts walking beside her husband.

"I sure do." said Joseph, gladly taking his daughter from Merle. After taking her, he gently moves part of the blanket from Alexandria's small face to reveal that she's looking up at him. "Hello there Alex. How are you?"

Alexandria just lets out a small sigh and twitches her feline ears towards her father. Joseph smiles and holds her closer to him as they reach the cabin. As Joseph reaches for the door, he stops and listens, only to be met by silence.

"Here Merle." said Joseph, handing Alex over to Merle. "Take Alex."

"Why?" Merle asks, as she takes thier daughter. "What's wrong?"

"It's quite." said Joseph, grabbing his pistol and grabs the door knob. "A little too quite."

Joseph quickly opens the door, then launches into the cabin and rolls upon hitting the ground. After rolling a couple of times, he gets up in a kneel, all the while holding his pistol out. He then looks around to find the room seemingly empty.

"That's odd." said Merle, walking into the cabin and looking around. "Where is everybody?"

"Don't know." said Joseph, putting the pistol away. "Seems unlike anybody to just disappear."

Just as he finishes the sentence, the others jump from thier hiding places and shout surprise making Joseph jump two feet off the ground. A second later, the twins both start to cry.

"What's going on here?" Joseph asked, as he takes Alexander from his mother, Elaina, and starts to rock him back and forth, all the while walking across the room. "Hush Alexander. Daddies here."

"Well," said Elaina, smiling and walking up at him. "today's the ninth of December."

"Your point being what exactly?" said Joseph, looking at her as his son calms down and looks up at him.

"Today is your birthday, daddy." said Tamera, smiling.

"Really?" Joseph said, smiling down at Alexander, causing him to babble. "Where does the time go?"

"Here's my present, dear." Merle said, coming over and planting a kiss on his cheek. She then gives Joseph a quick wink. "Just wait 'till tonight."

"What do you mean Merle?" Joseph asked, raising an eyebrow at Merle.

"Well, I'm cooking supper for you tonight as my present to you." Merle answered, giving him another slight wink.

"And here's mine daddy." said Tamera, walking over to her father and handing a picture and a bunch of wild flowers to him.

"Thankyou sweety." said Joseph, scuffing Tamera's hair.

"Your welcome daddy." said Tamera, smiling.

"I don't really care about presents you guys." Joseph said, handing Alexander back over to Elaina. He then takes the flowers and picture from Tamera, and gives her a small kiss on the cheek which causes her to blush. "I got everything that I need right here."

"Really?" said Hitomi, smiling at Joseph as Millerna, Queen Tabitha, and herself gives Joseph their presents.

"Yep." said Joseph, nodding as he puts the presents down on the table and takes the twins into his arms. "I have my friends and family with me. That's all that I, as a man, could ask and hope for."

"Oh, Joseph." said Hitomi, laughing as she walks over to a grinning Van and puts her arm through his. "You sure know how to butter up us women."

"I should." said Joseph, looking over to Merle. "I've known you all for awhile, now."

*******************************

That night, when everyone is asleep. Joseph quitly gets out of bed and walks outside in his t-shirt and shorts.  
When Joseph gets outside, he sits down on the bottom step and looks up as rain clouds drift by. After a little while of sitting on the step, Joseph hears a slight creak on the floor boards behind him. As he looks up in time to see a fist flying towards him. A split second later, the fist strikes Joseph across the face, knocking him against one of the posts of the stairs and knocking him unconcious and collapses to the ground. A second later, there's a flash of light that's reflected off of a knife as a robe clad figure steps off the belcony and kneels down beside Joseph's head and puts the blade of the knife to Joseph's throat.

But before the figure can do anything, the door to the cabin opens and Tamera steps out, rubbing her eyes.

"Daddy?" Tamera asks. All of a sudden she stops when she see's the figure stooped over her fathers limp form with the knife to his throat. She then let's out a high pitched scream as she drops her teddy bear. "Daddy."

Two seconds later, Tamera assumes her battle-form (shredding the back of her shirt as her wings pop out) and lunges at the figure, just as the figure looks up at her.

"Let go of my daddy." Tamera cries, as she slams into the figure and knocking the knife out of his hand. The force of the impact sends the figure slamming into the nearest tree and knocks him out cold. Tamera then bends down beside her father and picks up his head, she then places it into her lap as everyone else that were in the cabin come rushing out.

"What's going on out here?" Allen asks, as he runs over to Tamera's and Joseph's side.

"That bad man," said Tamera, standing up and turning to face her fathers assailent. All of a sudden she starts to glow a deep scarlet red in color and starts to walk towards the unconcious figure. "hurt my daddy."

Tamera then picks up the knife off the ground nearby and lunges at the figure.

"How dare you hurt my daddy." Tamera yells, plunging the dagger deep into the attackers body. She repeats the stabbing six more times as tears start to roll down her feathers. "I hate you. I hate you. I hate you."

"Stop Tamera." Merle said, as she wraps her arms around Tamera's waist and pulls her off the now dead attacker.  
Merle then takes the knife from Tamera and turns her around to face her. She then starts to stroke the back of Tamera's head in order to calm her down. "There there, Tamera."

"He hurt my daddy." Tamera cries, as she shifts back into her human form and burries her face into Merle's shoulder.

"We know, Tamera." said Merle, as she picks Tamera in her arms and takes her into the house.

A minute later, Allen and Max pick the unconcious Joseph and takes him into the cabin, shutting the door behind them.

********************************

The next morning, Joseph wakes up to find that he's back in his bed. After a couple of seconds of pulling himself together, he sits up and looks around to see Tamera asleep in a nearby chair, Joseph notices that Tamera's eyes are red from crying herself to sleep, which causes him to smile. He then gets up out of the bed and kneels down beside the chair, he then smiles and strokes Tamera's hair gently.

"Hmm?" Tamera says, as her eyes flutter open. When she see's her father kneeling beside her she sits up and throws her arms around Joseph's neck and starts to cry on his shoulder. "Oh daddy."

"Hush, Tamera." said Joseph, stroking Tamera's hair. A minute later, he pulls her away and looks deep into her eyes.  
"Calm down and tell me what's wrong."

Once Tamera's calmed down and explained everything to Joseph, he picks her up and carries her into the next room,  
carrying a stern look on his face. Upon entering the room, he looks around to see that everyone is turning and looking at him and Tamera with worried looks on thier faces. Flow and Dutch both get up off the floor and walk over to Joseph at Tamera, whimpering.

"'Morning everyone." said Joseph, bringing up a grand smile. "What's for breakfast?"

"Umm, Joseph." said Elaina, standing and holding Alexandria. "There's something that you should know."

"If it's about what Tamera did," said Joseph, looking at all the others with a weird glint in his eyes. "then I already know. Mind you, I don't agree with what she did, but I'm glad that she did it." Joseph then puts Tamera down on the floor and gives her a kiss on the forehead. "Thankyou Tamera."

He then walks over to the table and takes Alexandria from Elaina and sits down beside Merle. Once he's seated,  
Joseph reaches over and gently squeeses Merle's hand as Tamera walks over to an empty chair and sits in it, with a shy, but bright, smile on her face.

"So what's for breakfast?" Joseph said, smiling down at his babbling daughter.

"Joseph. You almost died last night." said Elaina, glaring down at him. "Don't you care?"

"Of course I care, mom." said Joseph, rocking Alexandria back and forth as his daughter starts to bauble more to herself. "But if you only knew how many times that I 'almost' died. Then you'd probably kill me."

"How many times?" she asked, sitting down and looking down at the table with a worried look on her face. "Tell me the truth."

"About five or so." Joseph answered, thinking it over. "counting this one."

"More like fifteen, dear." Merle said, shifting Alexander over to her other arm.

"What?" Elaina cried, looking up.

"Thanks alot Merle. Get me in trouble with my own mother" said Joseph, looking over at Merle. He then looks at Elaina. "Well, yeah. I 'almost' got killed fifteen times mom. Not all my fault."

"What do you mean by that?" Ealaina said, looking around.

"Most of those times were when he was saving our bacon, Miss Edwin." Hitomi answered, looking at Elaina. "You should be proud of him."

"That's true. Even though I never said that I was never proud of him." said Elaina, looking from Hitomi to Joseph and back again.

"Thanks." said Joseph, rolling his eyes. "I think."

After a few minutes of talking and eating, Joseph clears his throat to catch everyone's attention. He then turns and looks at Allen with a raised eyebrow.

"Umm Allen." Joseph said, looking in Allens direction.

"What is it Joseph?" Allen said, as he looks up from his plate and over at Joseph.

"If I were you, and I'm not, I'd get the ship ready for lift off as soon as possible." Joseph answered, as he finishes his food.

"Got it, Joseph." Allen said as he finishes his food. He then stands and excuses himself from the table, then goes out the door.

"And I'd suggest to everybody else to get thier gear together and head on over to the ship on the double." Joseph said, glancing from one person to the other. His eyes settle on his parents. "That includes the two of you."

"But Why do we have to?" Elaina asked, looking at her son while wringing her hands.

"Well if you were the enemy, then you'd think that I had some sort of connection to the two of you and then you'd send some forces out to either kidnap or kill the both of you." Joseph said, sitting up straight and putting one of his elbows onto the table. "Now you both can gather the things that you need."

"He's got a good point dear." Calvin agreed, as he stands up. "Let's get to work."

"Fine." said Elaina, sighing and getting up from her chair and hands her grandson to Merle. Then both Elaina and Calvin disappear into thier room to gather up thier things.

"Van." said Joseph, getting up from his seat and handing Alexandria to Hitomi. "I need you to do me a little favor."

"Yes Joseph?" Van asked, standing up and turns to Joseph. "What is it?"

"I need you to take Merle and the twins to the ship now. If you don't mind." Joseph asked, looking at his friend.

**************************************

The next day, Joseph is standing in a field outside the ship, daydreaming, as Tamera walks over to him with her one hand behind her back and carrying her stuffed bear in the other. upon reaching him, she puts her teddy under her arm and puts her now free hand on his arm and gives him a small shake.

"Daddy..." Tamera said, as she shakes Joseph awake from his day-dream. "Hey daddy."

"What is it Tamera?" Joseph asked, as he looks down at Tamera, focusing his eyesight on his daughter.

"Look at what I found." Tamera answered, holding a pair of sai's to her father.

"Where did you find these?" Joseph asked, not betraying the fear that he feels inside, when he notices the ruins running down the sides of the blades.

"I found them on a rock in the middle of a small pond over behind that bush." Tamera answered, grinning as she points to the bushes that she used the bathroom behind.

"Now Tamera. I want you to tell me something," Joseph said, kneeling down in front of Tamera. "and I want to know the honest to goodness truth."

"Okey daddy. What is it?" Tamera said, looking at Joseph with wonder in her eyes.

"When you picked these" Joseph said, placing his hands over the sai's. "up, did you start to hear voices in your head?"

"Yes daddy." Tamera said, nodding.

"Can you tell me what they said?" Joseph asked, looking into Tamera's eyes as his fear grows. "Did they tell you thier names at all?"

"Well. They told me that I've been chosen by them to help save Gae" Tamera answered, looking down at her feet.  
She then looks back up into Joseph's eyes with wonder glinting in hers. "with you, daddy. Then they said that thier names were water tiger and flaming shark-fin."

"It's just as I feared. Well, I know that I can't talk you out of it." said Joseph, sighing as he stands up and picks Tamera up, then walking back into the ship. "So I'll give you something to do."

"Really daddy?" Tamera asks, holding onto Joseph while holding her teddy and her new sai's. "What is it?"

"While I'm gone to battle or somewhere else and I'm not with you, I want you to protect both your mother and the twins." Joseph said, looking at Tamera as they get on the ship. "Think you can handle that? It's really important."

"Yes daddy." said Tamera, nodding while carrying a large smile on her face. "I can do that for you."

After a two minute walk, they reach the the entrance to the bridge. Upon entering, Joseph puts Tamera down and walks over to Allen, who's leaning against one of the walls.

"Well Allen." Joseph said, stopping beside Allen. "Tamera's done with her business. So if you don't mind."

"Okey." Allen answered, pushing off the wall. "You guys heard him. Time to lift off."

"Hey Allen." Joseph said, looking around the cabin, as they start to lift off, to find Merle, Elaina, and Tabitha are no where to be seen. "Where's Merle, the queen and my mom gone off to?"

"Hmm?" Allen asked, turning to Joseph. "Knowing those three, they probably went to talk."

"Oo-key." Joseph said, heading to the door. "Thanks Allen. I'll be in my room if you need me."

"Wait for me daddy." Tamera calls out, as she races to Joseph and takes one of his hands, while carrying her sai's in her hand and her stuffed bear pressed against her. "Don't leave me behind."

"You know that I'd never do that, Tamera." Joseph said, with a laugh. "C'mon, sweety. Besides, we need to give you some lessons so you can learn some more of your alphabet and your numbers. That way you can learn more, okey?"

"Okey, daddy." said Tamera, smiling up at her father as they walk down the hall, hand-in-hand.

********************************

"So that's all you have to do for your additions and subtractions, Tamera." said Joseph, leaning over Tamera's shoulder and pointing down at the piece of paper that Tamera was using for her numbers and math.

"That was really easy to do, daddy." said Tamera, looking from Joseph to the paper and back again. "Can we do some more 'math' daddy? Please?"

"I don't know, Tamera." said Merle, holding the sleeping twins in her arms. "I think you both need to take a break from doing all that learning and teaching."

"Merle's right, Joseph." Elaina said, walking into the room carring a tray with three steaming cups of normal tea and a cup of mint tea. "Besides, I brought the three of you some tea."

"Your a real life saver, mom." said Joseph, taking a cup of normal tea for himself and the cup of mint tea for Tamera.  
"Here you go, sweety. Here's a cup of your mint tea."

"Thank you, daddy" said Tamera, moving her papers from in front of her and taking her tea from her father. She then takes a sip from her tea and let's out a little sigh. "Yummy. Thankyou grand-mommy."

"Here, Merle."said Elaina, putting hers and Merle's mugs onto the table. She then takes Alexander from Merle.  
"C'mere sweety."

"Where'd you get the tea from, mom?" Joseph asked, taking a sip from his tea and looking at his mother as she's sipping her tea and rocking her grand-son back and forth.

"We had gotten some the day before we left." said Elaina, looking up at her son. "We brought it with us, when we had left the cabin. We also brought along some fresh leaves just in case."

"Ahh." said Joseph, taking another sip of tea and smiling. "So that explains it. We could always use a cup of tea to drink once in a while."

"I know what you mean, Joseph." Elaina said, looking at her son with a smile on her face and a twinkle in her eyes.

********************************

That night, when the ship landed and everyone disembarked to set up camp for the night. Joseph is sitting on a rock near the camp fire, teaching Tamera on how to keep her weapons clean and sharp.

"Really daddy?" Tamera asked, while polishing the two sai's. "You can do that?"

"Well, yeah." Joseph answered, smiling while polishing Malisk. "You can use certain plants to make your weapons gleam with thier own light. It all depends on what plants to choose and what plants not to choose."

"Wow." Tamera exclaimed, looking down to make sure that the blades are as clean as possible.

"What are you two doing over here?" Merle asks, walking over with a sleeping Alexander in her arms.

"Just talking, sweetheart." Joseph said, putting Malisk down and taking Alexander from Merle. "Come here, short stuff."

"Careful Joseph. He's asleep at the moment." Merle said, and recieves a roll of eyes from Joseph as she gives Alexander to Joseph. She then looks down at Tamera. "Looks like your having fun, Tamera."

"I am, mommy." Tamera said, giving Merle a large smile. "Daddies teaching me. It's fun when he teaches me new things."

"Well, Tamera." Joseph said, looking down at Tamera. "That's enough polishing for now."

"Why daddy?" Tamera asked, putting her cloth down on the ground and looking up at Joseph.

"Because it's time to go to bed. That's why." Joseph answered, looking around. He then looks back down at Tamera as she stands up and picks up her stuffed bear and new weapons. "I'll be in to tuck you into bed, in about a minute or so."

"Okey daddy" Tamera said, disappearing into thier tent holding her bear and sai's closely to her.

"What's wrong, Merle?" Joseph asked, turning to his wife.

"I'm worried about Tamera." Merle answered, looking at Joseph.

"How so?" Joseph said, as he studies the worried look on Merle's face.

"Ever since she found those weapons, she wouldn't stop talking about how she's going to help you." said Merle,  
looking into Joseph's eyes. After a couple of seconds, she walks over to Joseph with tears in her eyes as she wraps her arms around his waist. "I'm scared for her safety."

"If I were you, Merle, I wouldn't worry about it." said Joseph, running a hand up and down Merle's back. "Nothing is going to happen to her if I can help it. Now, go get Alexandria so we can get some sleep."

"Your right as always, Joseph." said Merle after a couple of seconds, placing her hands behind Joseph's neck and gives him a brief kiss. She then goes walking away. "That's why I love you."

"I Love you too, Merle." said Joseph, as Merle walks off to get Alexandria. "And I always will."

****************************

The next day, as Joseph wakes up, he hears a slight rustling from outside his families tent. Looking around, he notices that Merle and the kids aren't in the tent. After slipping into a pair of jogging pants and t-shirt, he steps out of the tent to find everyone standing around the fire with worried looks. Nearby, Joseph notices two corpses laying in the dirt.

"Hey guys." Joseph said, walking over to the group. "What in the world is with the corpses?"

"Zaibach spies." answered Van, turning towards Joseph. "We're trying to figure out where the came from."

"Jeez." said Joseph, running a hand through his hair. He then walks over to Merle and takes Alexandria from her and scuffs Tamera's hair. "What is this? Year of attacking the good guys??"

"Hard to say Joseph." said Allen, glancing at Joseph.

"Well. If you guys give me a few minutes to fully wake up, I'll go and scout the area." Joseph said, as he rocks his daughter in his arms.

"I'll go with you, Joseph." Van said, looking back at the fire. "That way it'll be a little safer."

"I really don't think that you should Van." Joseph said, as he looks at his friend.

"Why?" Van asked, as he turns to Joseph.

"It'll be safer if I go alone. Not to mention alot quieter." said Joseph, giving Alexandria back to Merle and taking off his shirt. All the while recieving a stern look from Van. "The reason that I should do it alone is because none of you has gotten enough experience in your battle-forms. Now if you'll excuse me, I'll get flying. But first."

Just as Joseph finishes the sentance, he gives Merle a kiss. He then bends down and whispers something into Tamera's ears, only to have Tamera get a stern look and gives him a quick nod.

"Okey daddy. I can do that." Tamera said, when he pulls away.

"Good." Joseph said, scuffing Tamera's hair. "That's my big girl."

And all of a sudden, Joseph shifts into his battle-form, calling Malisk to him, and takes off flying with Malisk in hand. After about a half-hour of packing, the group hears a series of explosions from a couple of miles away for a full five minutes. Not even twenty minutes later, the group see's Joseph flying back. Upon landing, Joseph starts to shake some ash from his fur and pants, as the group runs over to him.

"What were those explosions coming from, Joseph?" Merle asked, looking at Joseph as he's brushing the soot and ash off of himself. "And why on Gea are you covered in soot for??"

"Hmm?" Joseph growled, looking up from brushing the dust off. Then in his deep voice. "Oh. That was just from me totaling a Zaibach scouting patrol. And as for the soot, that's from the soldiers dying in an inferno of fire and brimestone."

"Where did you find the patrol at?" Van asked, watching Joseph shake off the last of the soot and ash.

"I found it about twenty miles south of here." said Joseph, as he takes the shirt that Tamera hands up to him.  
"Thanks sweety."

"Your welcome, daddy." Tamera giggled.

"It seems that everything is done." Joseph said, looking around to see all the camping gear has been put away and shifting into his human form. "We'd better get going, 'cause I don't really know if they called for reinforcements."

"Ships already for lift off." Max said, glancing towards the ship.

"That's good to hear, Max." said Joseph, walking towards the ship. "But I'll be taking the Harold out. So that if we get attacked, we'll be at least somewhat ready to defend ourselves."

"Good point Joseph." Allen said, as he and the others follow. "I'll tell the gunners to be ready. Just to be on the safe side."

"Good." Joseph said, reaching the gangway. Just as he steps onto the gangway, he turns and looks at his daughter.  
"Tamera."

"Yes daddy?" Tamera asked, rushing up to Joseph and putting her hand into his.

"Would you like to join me?" Joseph asked, glancing down at his daughter.

"You mean that I can fly with you?" she asked, voice thick with wonder.

"Of course." Joseph said, smiling and giving her hand a gentle squeese.

"I don't think that that's a good idea, dear." Merle said, coming up beside Joseph, with Alexander in her arms.

"Don't worry, Merle." said Joseph, thowing an arm around her shoulders. "She'll be safe with me."

"I still don't like the idea of a little girl going up there and flying around." Merle said, as they reach the Epsilon Harold.

*************************

"Wheee!!!." Tamera shreeked with pure joy in her voice, as the Epsilon finishes a loop in Gaurdian mode and coming up behind a Zaibach gaimelf.

Just as they finished the loop, Joseph engages in a barrel roll, as the gaimelf flies to the right, firing the cannon.  
When the bullets hit the gaimelf, it starts to disintergrate.

"Well Tamera," said Joseph, over the radio. "that was the last one. What do you say that we go and catch up to the others."

"Okey daddy." Tamera said, from the back seat.

Joseph takes off towards where they had last seen the ship, shifting back over to fighter. After a fifteen minute flight, they reach the ship to find that it's hardly been damaged thanks to the improved armor. Once getting to the ship, Joseph coaxes the Harold forward and starts to fly in front of the ship while focusing some of the camera's to the bridge of the ship. After a couple of seconds of making the adjustments, Joseph is able to look into the bridge to see that everyone is either walking around or taking care of things.

"Hey Tamera." Joseph said, switching one of the camera feeds to the monitor near Tamera's seat. "Look who's following us."

Just then, Merle steps up to the window of the bridge, carrying both a smile on her face and the twins in her arms.

"Mommy," Tamera cries out in joy, looking down at the monitor. "Alex, and Zander."

"Why don't we say hello to them. Hmm?" Joseph asks, smiling behind his helmet.

"Okey, daddy." Tamera said, watching the moniter in front of her.

"Here we go." said Joseph, as he tilts the wings from side to side as if the Epsilon was waving.

After a four hour flight, Joseph takes the Harold down as the ship settles down in a large open field. Once the Epsilon has landed, Joseph turns everything off and opens the cockpit. He then climbs out with Tamera, as she tells him what she liked the most.

"Well." said Joseph, smiling as the two of them get off the ladder. "At least you enjoyed yourself, sweety."

"I really did enjoy it, daddy." said Tamera, as the two of them walk towards the ship, hand in hand. "It was fun flying."

Just as Joseph and Tamera reach the ship, the door opens to let the others out. Upon stepping out, everyone rushes over to Joseph and Tamera.

"Are you two alright?" Elaina asked, full of concern.

"Of course we are. Aren't we Tamera?" Joseph asked, looking down at Tamera.

"Yep." Tamera said, nodding with a satisfied look on her face and letting go of her father's hand. "We're fine, grand-  
mommy."

All of a sudden, the field is engulfed by a bright white light. Joseph starts to look around when he feels his feet leaving the ground.

"Daddy." Tamera faintly cried out. "Don't go."

"Wha..?" Joseph asked, turning to see Tamera, Merle, and the others make a grab for him before they disappear.  
"Merle... Tamera... No..."

After a couple of seconds, Joseph's feet touch the ground again, as the bright white light slowly fades to reveal that he's now standing in the master bedroom of his three bedroom apartment in Dartmouth.

"Dear god. No." Joseph said, flopping down onto the bed with tears streaming down his cheeks. He then puts his head in his hands. "This can't be happening to me."

The End of:  
Part 9: Tamera's wrath.

To be continued in:  
Part 10: Real world? Real problems. 


	12. Real World, Real Problems Part 1

Attack of the New Zaibach: Part 10: Real world? Real problems.  
By Rathorc Lemenger!!

(Authors note 1: Please don't sue me for any and all copyrighted characters. All other characters that are not in the original story line belong to me.)

"Dear god. No." Joseph said, flopping down onto the bed with tears streaming down his cheeks. He then puts his head in his hands. "This can't be happening to me."

A minute later, Joseph is startled when he hears several loud crashes, curses and what seems to be two babies crying from the living-room.

"Where are we Van?" asked a familiar female voice.

"I don't know, Hitomi." Van answered, with a sigh. "The last thing I remember is the bright light covering the field,  
Joseph disappearing into it, and then us ending up here. Where ever here is."

"Mommy." a little girls voice pipes up, as if she was near tears. "Where's daddy gone?"

"I don't know Tamera." said another, more familiar, woman's voice, thick with sadness as she tries to calm the two babies. "I honestly don't know. I'm sorry, Tamera."

"My god. It couldn't be, could it?" Joseph cries, jumping up and runs into the living room. Upon reaching the livingroom, Joseph stops and is greeted by startled looks from Van, Hitomi, Merle (who has the twins in her arms,  
Tamera (who's holding onto Merle's dress for dear life), Max and Tabitha. "M-Merle? Is that really you??"

Time feels to stop for a couple of seconds. It then starts up again when Merle (still carrying the twins in her arms,  
Tamera, and Joseph all lunge at each other with tears in their eyes. Upon reaching the middle of the room, Joseph throws his arms around Merle, Tamera and and the twins, and starts to hug and kiss each of them.

"My god." Joseph said, holding Merle and his children closer to him. All the while crying his eyes out. "I thought that I lost the four of you."

"We thought that we lost you, Joseph." Merle said, between sobs.

"What happened daddy?" Tamera asked, holding onto Joseph's pant leg and looking around, then looking up at him. "Where are we?"

"Your in my home, Tamera." said Joseph, looking down at Tamera and then to Merle, studying thier faces. "On Earth."

"Where?" Merle asked, giving Joseph a skeptical look.

"In other words," said Van, stepping forward. "We're on the Mystic moon."

"What?" Merle asked, looking from Joseph's nodding head to Van. "You mean we're not on Gea anymore?"

"Come here Merle, and I'll prove it to you." Joseph said, letting go of his family. He then walks over to the window and opens the blinds."Tell me, Merle, would you find someplace like this anywhere on Gea?"

Merle walks over beside Joseph and looks out the window to see cars driving along the road and people walking on the sidewalks.

"By all the living things on gea," said Merle, taking a step back. "There's so many people down there."

"What do you mean, mommy?" Tamera asked, coming over and looking out the window. "Whoa, look at all the people."

"Come and have a seat, dear." Joseph said, guiding Merle over to the couch and helps her to sit down. He then stands and looks at the others. "Is anyone thirsty?"

"I am daddy." Tamera answered, walking over to Joseph and taking his hand, then looking up at him. "But I need to do a pee really bad, too."

"Well, in that case. I'd better show you where the bathroom is and how to flush ze toilet." said Joseph, scooping the giggling Tamera up in his arms, as he takes her to the bathroom.

**************************

Five minutes later, once everyone is seated in the livingroom with a drink either in thier hands or in front of them.  
Joseph studies each and everyone of thier faces while holding Alexander in his arms.

"Any ideas, anyone?" Joseph asked, holding the dosing Alexander in his arms. He looks over to see Max about to open his mouth. "Other then stating the obvious fact that we have to find a way to get back to Gea."

"Damn." said Max, shutting his mouth and looking around. After a couple of seconds, he focuses on the 'Gundam-  
Wing' action figure collection on Joseph's wall unit. "I have a question for you, Joseph."

"What is it Max?" said Joseph, glancing back at Max.

"What are these strange things, on your shelfing unit?" asked Max, getting up off the couch with his cup of juice and walks over to the wall-unit. "They kind of look like your Gaimelf."

"Oh those? they're just some stuff that I collect for the heck of it." said Joseph, getting up from where he's sitting and walks over to Max's side. "In fact," After a couple of seconds, he takes the 'Wing Gundam Zero Custom' off the shelf and walks over to where Tamera is sitting. "I think that it's a pretty good idea to let my eldest enjoy herself with one of them while us adults have a little conversation."

"Really daddy?" Tamera asks, putting her cup of juice down and reaches up to take the action figure from her father.

"Of course, my dear. Just to let you know that" said Joseph, watching his daughter as she starts to play with the toy. "you can play with anyone of those. Since they're all toys anyway."

"Thank you daddy." said Tamera, getting up from her seat and hugs Joseph. After a couple of seconds, she sits down on the floor and starts to play with the toy.

"Now," said Joseph, as he looks from one person to another until his eyes land on Alexandria. "we have some things to worry about."

"Like what?" Max asks, turning from looking at the action figure collection and looks at Joseph.

"Well, the first thing we have to find out is what today's date is." Joseph answered, walking over to the television and turning it on. After a minute of flipping through the channels, Joseph finds the right channel and studies it for a couple of seconds. He then turns and looks at the others. "It's as I thought."

"What do you mean, daddy?" Tamera asks, getting up from where she was playing with the toy and stops beside Joseph. Her eyes go wide when she notices the television. "Wow."

"It seems to me," said Joseph, looking from one person to the next. "that I've been gone for a month and a half.  
Earth time that is."

"But you've been on Gea for about three and a half years, Joseph." Van said, taking a sip from his cup of tea.  
"It doesn't make any sense."

"I know." Joseph said, turning off the television to Tamera's dissapointment and putting Alexander in his other arm.  
"But there's the possibility of time distortion between here and Gea."

"That makes a little sense." said Max, going over to the couch and sitting down. "What about the other things that you wanted to mention?"

"Well." said Joseph, walking over to Hitomi and hands Alexander over to her. "Hold him please for me 'tomi.  
Thanks" he then looks at the others. "I have to get changed and cleaned up, before I take care of the other things."

***********************

"Well?" Joseph asked, walking back into the livingroom 20 minutes later, wearing a t-shirt, jeans, black socks and a clean shaven face. "How do I look??"

"As handsome as ever, Joseph." said Merle, smiling as she watches him give a slight tug on his shirt.

"Yeah daddy." said Tamera, looking up at Joseph with a large grin on her face. "You look handsome."

"Thanks you two. It feels good to be in these clothes again." said Joseph, smiling. He then walks over to Merle and helps her up. "If you'll follow me Merle, I'll show you where you can feed the twins while I'm gone."

"Well then, handsome. Why don't you lead the way." said Merle, following Joseph while carrying Alexandria. As they're passing by Hitomi, Joseph takes Alexander from her.

"Just to let you know Merle, that the room is slightly messed up from me looking for some clothes that fit." said Joseph, when they get to the room. Joseph then opens the door to reveal the clothes arranged into neat piles on the bed.

"Well." said Merle, as she looks around the room. "I don't see any messes in here. The only piles of clothes that I see is what's on the bed."

"Well." said Joseph, looking at Merle as she passes him Alexandria and moves some of the piles of clothes to the dresser. Once the clothes are moved, she walks over to Joseph and takes the twins from him.

"If you'll excuse me Merle, I have to go out and take care of some things." said Joseph, turning to the door and walks out. He shuts the door as he goes out.

"Be careful, Joseph." Merle calls out from the bedroom.

"You know I will Merle." Joseph calls back. "I love you."

*************************

"I'm baaack." Joseph calls out, as he walks into the apartment carrying 3 boxes of large pizza's, followed by a husky women in her early twenties.

Joseph walks into the kitchen and puts the pizza's onto the table. He then turns and takes some of the bags from the woman and puts them onto the table beside the pizza's.

"You can lay those bags on the floor, in the corner." Joseph said, turning and looking at the woman.

"No problem, Joseph." said the woman, as Van and the others walk in.

"Where's Merle?" Joseph asked, looking at Van.

"She's in the living room, changing the twins wrappings." said Tabitha,walking over to the garbage can.

"Who's that, Joseph?" Max asked, glancing at the woman.

"She's a old friend of mine, Max." said Joseph, disappearing around the corner. "I'll explain everything in a minute."

After a minute, Joseph walks back into the kitchen carrying Alexandria in his arms, followed by Merle, who's carrying Alexander. Upon seeing the woman, Merle stops,she then takes a quick step back, all the while looking at Joseph.

"Who's that, dear?" Merle asked, glancing at the woman. She then glares at Joseph.

"It's okey Merle. She's a friend, you can trust her." said Joseph, walking around and burping Alexandria. "I'd like everyone to meet my good friend Vicki. Vicki, I'd like you to meet my dear wife, Merle. My children, Alexander,  
Alexandria, and my eldest, Tamera."

"Hello." said Vicki, turning to Merle and giving her a large smile.

"And the others are my close friends: Van and his wife Hitomi, Max and his wife Tabitha." said Joseph, nodding to the others, as Alexandria let's out a loud burp. Alexandria then pukes a little bit onto Joseph's shoulder. "Oh oh.  
Someone had a little accident."

"What's in here daddy?" Tamera asked, looking into one of the bags on the table.

"I figured that everyone would be hungry, so I bought some hamburgers and pizza's." Joseph said, taking Alexandria away from his shoulder and wipping away the flem from around her mouth. He then wipes away the flem from his shoulder. "There we go Alex. Much better."

"What's in those bags?" Max asks, nodding at the bags on the floor as he opens the top pizza box and takes a slice of pizza out. "And how do you eat this 'pizza'?"

"The bags have clothes." said Joseph, looking at Max as the others start to take out the food from the bags. "The pizza's easy to eat, Max. see the tip with the various toppings?"

"Yes?" Max said, turning the slice around so the tip that Joseph mentioned, is facing him.

"That's the place that you start eating at." said Joseph, walking back and forth as everyone starts eating. He then walks over to the pizza box and grabs a slice of pizza while holding Alexandria. "Come here you big, beautiful slice of pizza."

"Aahh." said Max, eating his slice. "This 'pizza' is good."

"This hamburger is delicious, Joseph." Merle said, as she sits in one of the chairs and munch's away at her hamburger, all the while, holding Alexander in her arms.

"I figured that you'd like it, Merle." said Joseph, taking another bite of pizza. "I think there's a fish-burger in there some place."

"I have the fish, daddy. It tastes a little funny." Tamera said, looking up from where she's sitting in the chair. "But it's yummy."

"So Joseph." Vicki said, finishing off the slice of pizza. She then looks at Joseph. "You told me that you wanted to explain where you've been for the last month and a half." She then nods to Merle. "And why does she have a cat's tail and ears for?"

"Well...." said Joseph, finishing off the slice of pizza.

****************

"And that's the whole story, Vicki." said Joseph, as everyone is sitting in the livingroom. "Or at least the Jest of it."

"Now I understand." said Vicki, sitting back on the couch. She then stands and heads to the door. "If you'll excuse me, I have to get home before my mother murders me."

"I'll show you out, Vicki. Besides, I need to ask you something anyway." said Joseph getting up and putting the now sleeping Tamera down onto the chair. He then walks vicki to the door.

Once Joseph returns from letting Vicki out, he looks at the others.

"I don't know if it's just me or what, but it seems that everyone is tired." He said, studing everyone's faces. He then goes over and picks Tamera and looks at Merle and the twins. "C'mon Merle. I'll show you where you, Tamera and the twins can sleep for the night."

"Sure Joseph." said Merle, getting up and walking behind Joseph to his room.

"You three can sleep in here tonight, Merle."said Joseph, opening the door and leading Merle in.

"Are you sure, Joseph?" Merle asked, as Joseph lays Tamera into the bed.

"Merle." said Joseph, turning and facing his wife. "I'm as sure as we have three wonderful kids. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to show the others to thier rooms before they go unconcious on me."

Joseph smiles and then walks out of the room, closing the door gently behind him. He then walks into the livingroom to find the others looking around. After a second of watching them, Joseph clears his throat which causes them all to jump.

"Okey you four," said Joseph, smiling. "if you'll follow me, I'll show you to your rooms."

"Are you sure that we're not imposing?" Tabitha asked, as the four of them are standing.

"Tabitha. If you were imposing, don't you think that I would have told you?" said Joseph, as he leads them down the hall. He then stops and turns to face them. "Okey kiddies. Tabitha and Max take the bedroom on the left, Van and Hitomi take the bedroom on the right. there's queen sized beds so that both people in the couple can fit on them with relative ease."

"Where are you going to sleep, Joseph?" Hitomi asks, looking up at him.

"You don't have to worry about that 'tomi."said Joseph, blowing it off as if it was nothing. "I already have a place to sleep for the night."

"Okey Joseph." said Hitomi, as the two couples disappear into thier seperate rooms. "Goodnight."

"Good night everybody." said Joseph, as he walks into the livingroom. Once in the livingroom, Joseph walks over to the couch and lays down on it to sleep. "Well. I'd better get comfortable and get some sleep myself."

******************

In the middle of the night, Joseph is awaken when he hears a shuffling sound beside him. He opens his eyes up a little to see Merle's shadowed form placing a blanket over him and placing it under his chin. Merle then bends over and gives him a small kiss on the lips. Just as she turns to leave, Joseph reaches out and takes her hand, causing her to stop and turn.

"Thank you Merle."Joseph whispered, opening his eyes more so she can see that he's awake. "I love you."

"I love you too, sweetheart. Now get some sleep." Merle whispered back, before taking her hand from Joseph's and disappearing down the hall to her room.

A few minutes after Merle leaves the room, Joseph gets up, throwing off the blanket, and walks to the bathroom.  
Upon reaching the bathroom, he notices that the door is closed and locked.

"Who's in there?" Joseph calls out in a low voice, so as not to wake the others.

"I am daddy." Tamera answers, from the other side of the door, sniffling a little. "I can't get out."

"Hold on, sweety. I'll get you out." said Joseph, probing the other side of the door with his telekinesis. After a couple of seconds, Joseph finds that Tamera had accidently locked herself in. A split second later, Joseph unlocks the door and opens it to find Tamera sitting on the toilet seat, crying. He then walks over and kneels down in front of her, taking her hand in his. "You'll be okey now, Tamera. Daddies here."

"Oh daddy." Tamera said, lunging at him and wrapping her free arm around his neck, crying the whole time. "I was so scared. The door wouldn't open for me."

"I know sweety." said Joseph, running a hand up and down Tamera's back, trying to calm her down. He then gets up and takes one of her hands in his. "I know. But I have an idea. Why don't the two of us have a cup of tea to calm our nurves. Okey?"

"Okey daddy." said Tamera, nodding her head and rubbing the tears from her eyes.

****************************

In the morning, Joseph wakes up to find Tamera still asleep beside him, lightly snoring. After a few minutes of watching her, Joseph gets up and puts the blanket over her, he then walks into the kitchen and starts to gather the things to make breakfast with. After a few minutes, as Joseph walks by the room that Merle's staying in, he notices that Alexandria is awake and looking around the room. After a couple of seconds of using the toilet, he then walks into the room and picks up Alexandria and walks into the kitchen.

"C'mon Alexandria." he said, as he grabs a baby bottle from the cabinet. He then fills it with milk from the fridge and puts the bottle into a small pot of hot water on the stove, heating it up. "Let's get you something to eat."

As the time rolls by, Joseph turns on the small radio to a channel playing classical music that he has in the kitchen, then grabs the baby bottle from the pot. After he tests it on his wrist, Joseph gently places the nossel into his daughters mouth and gets her to start eating.

"Now doesn't that feel good to you, Alexandria." said Joseph, after a few minutes he takes the bottle out and places it onto the kitchen table. He then brings her up to his shoulder and starts to rub her back, all the while slowly dancing across the floor to the music. "Now. When you get older Alex, I expect to be a grandfather. But, until then I'll protect you from all the dangers of the world around you. I'll protect you from the monsters in your closet and under your bed. I'll watch your back when things get tough, I'll fix any cuts or bruises on your knees and elbows."

After having Alexandria give him a large burp, Joseph starts to take Alexandria into the livingroom while giving her her bottle, just as Tabitha walks into the kitchen. Causing Joseph to stop in his tracks.

"Hello Joseph." Tabitha said, giving Joseph a small smile. She then looks around the kitchen and all the various items on the counter. She then looks back at Joseph. "What's going on in here Joseph?"

"Well. I started making everyone breakfast when Alex here, woke up." said Joseph, feeding Alexandria, who's looking around in her fathers arms. "But other then that, everythings fine. How was your night?"

"It was quite the comfortable sleep." Tabitha answered, giving Joseph a smile. She then looks down at Alexandria and back up to Joseph. "Do you want me to feed her while you make breakfast?"

"That would be really helpful, Tabitha." said Joseph, handing his daughter to Tabitha. He then turns to the kitchen and walks in. "I'll try to be as quick as possible with cooking breakfast."

"I have one question for you Joseph." said Tabitha, following Joseph into the kitchen, while holding both Alexandria and the baby bottle.

"Which is?" said Joseph, as he starts to cook some bacon and eggs in two seperate frying pans.

"Well." said Tabitha, sitting down at the kitchen table. "What is this bottle for?"

"Oh that?" said Joseph, glancing over his shoulder. "That bottle is equal to being breast fed. But not quite as simple as breast feeding."

"Oh." said Tabitha, putting the nozzle of the baby bottle into Alexandria's mouth. "I think I understand now."

************************

"Mommy." Tamera said, walking into the bedroom and over to where Merle's sleeping. She then climbs onto the bed and sits down beside the now awake Alexander.

"What is it Tamera?" Merle asked, opening her eyes sleepily and sitting up in bed. "What do you want?"

"It's time for breakfast, mommy." Tamera answered, as she starts to play with her baby brother by taking his hands and carefully swinging them back and forth. "Everyone else is awake and waiting for you and Alexander to get up."

"Thankyou Tamera."said Merle, picking up Alexander. "Tell your father that I'll be right there."

"Okey Mommy." Tamera answered, getting off the bed and running out to the kitchen. When she gets to where Joseph is at the stove, she tugs on his shirt to get his attention.

"What is it Tamera?" Joseph asked, glancing down at his daughter.

"Mommy is on her way, daddy." Tamera answered, giving Joseph a bright smile.

"Thankyou sweety." he said, smiling at her as he grabs another plate. He then puts some bacon, eggs, sasauges and hashbrowns onto it, he then hands the plate to Tamera and gently scuffs her hair. "There you go Tamera.  
Enjoy your breakfast."

"Thankyou daddy." said Tamera, as she walks over to the table and sits down in the chair that Van had just got out of. She then takes a bite out of the bacon and some of the eggs with a growing sense of joy on her face. "It's yummy."

"Where's Alexandria at Joseph?" Merle asks, walking into the kitchen with Alexander in her arms. "It's time for her to eat."

"She already had her breakfast, Merle." said Joseph, pointing at Hitomi as she's burping Alex, who's carrying a satisfied look on her face. "And as you can see, she's satisfied."

"What did you feed her?" Merle asked, walking over to Joseph. "I don't remember you waking me up."

"She had milk of course." said Joseph, as he finishes putting some bacon, eggs and hashbrowns onto a plate for Merle. He then turns to find Merle glaring at him. "Oh. It's not what you think Merle. I should have told you that we have a special type of milk here for babies."

"Oh." said Merle, when she finally understands what Joseph meant. She then follows Joseph over to the table and sits down."Where did it come from?"

"Well, If you really want to know Merle. It came from a special species of cow that can produce milk." he said, he then grabs Alexander from Merle and walks over to the stove and takes the second baby bottle from the pot of hot water. He then tests it to find that it's the perfact temperture. After a second of double checking, he places the nipple into Alexanders mouth. "Now it's about time that you eat too, Alexander."

Just as Joseph starts to feed Alexander, the phone rings causing everyone in the kitchen to jump.

"Jeez. I totally forgot about that." said Joseph, as he hands Alexander back to Merle with the baby bottle. He then walks over to the phone and picks it up to answer. "Yello, Edwin residence."

After a couple of seconds, Joseph's face goes white as he nods. After a minute, Joseph hangs up the phone and looks at the others.

"We have a problem guys." Joseph said, as blood rushes back into his face. "And it's a big one to boot."

**********************

"Okey mom." said Joseph, walking into the house as he's followed by Van. "Where's the Harold?"

"It's in the back yard with the Escaflowne." Elaina answered, walking into the foryay with Millerna. "Allen's back there setting them up for transport along with the Scherazade."

"Good." said Joseph, heading through the house with Van. "Mom, I need you and dad to go over to a clothing store and get some clothes for Merle and the others. Then I need you to head over to my apartment and make sure that the others get ready."

"What are the two of you going to do?" Elaina asked, following Joseph and Van.

"Me and Van are going to hide the mecha right under everyone's noses." said Joseph, walking through the back door and outside. When he see's Allen, he calls out. "Allen. Is everything ready?"

"Yes." Allen answered, turning to Joseph's direction and see's Van and Joseph both walking over in a pair of jeans and t-shirts. "Nice outfits, guys."

"How are you going to do that, Joseph?" Elaina asked, coming out on the deck.

"'The Hidden Dragon Procedure' of course mom." said Joseph, turning to his mother. "I should have an extra tarp and device in the cockpit."

"Well. You better get out of here quickly." said Calvin, walking out onto the deck. "The soldiers will be here any minute now. Knowing the people around here they probably called them."

"Consider us gone, dad." said Joseph, as he, Van, and Alan climb into the cockpits of the mecha. After a minute,  
Joseph comes over the speakers. "Are you both ready to go?"

"We're as ready as we're ever going to be, Joseph." Van answered, taking a step forward in the Escaflowne.

"Good." said Joseph, as he switches the Epsilon over from Gardian to Battloid. He then heads to the street. "C'mon you two. Before the Canadian soldiers get here."

Just as he reaches the street, Joseph stops and looks in both directions as people start to filter out of thier homes to get good looks at the three mecha. He then starts to head down the street with both Van and Allen following behind in the Escaflowne and the Scherazade. When they reach the bottom of the street, Joseph steps out into the intersection and is met with screeching tires and screams from women.

"Van, Allen. We have now have two choices." said Joseph, as the three of them head down the highway towards the Cole Harbor Place.

"Which are what, Joseph?" Van asked, as he pulls up beside Joseph.

"Well. We could go and hide in the woods." said Joseph, as he keeps on walking. "I know the perfact place to put the mecha."

"Or?" Allen asked from behind Joseph.

"Or we could go into town and hide the mecha on the roof of my apartment building." said Joseph, stopping the Epsilon Harold just as the sirens in the cockpit go off. "Looks like we have company you two. Get ready for action."

Joseph turns around and pulls out his cannon, as Van and Allen turn and pull out thier swords. After a couple of seconds, they're greeted by police sirens as police and the Canadian army come into view. After a couple of seconds, the police and army surround the three mecha with tanks, jeeps, police cars, army helicopters and fighter jets. All the turrents of the tanks swivel and aim at the three mecha. A couple of seconds later, an army general steps out of one of the jeeps with a bullhorn. He then walks over to where there's a clear area between the jeeps and tanks, and raises the bullhorn to his lips.

"On behalf of the Canadian government, we demand that you step out of your, um..." the General said through the bull horn, he then turns and looks at the other soldiers and vehicles for the correct wording. After a couple of seconds, he turns back to the three mecha and lifts the bullhorn back up to his lips. "Out of your vehicles and hand them over to the proper authorities."

"Two things, General." said Joseph over the speakers, as he's lowering his cannon a little and switching over to English. "The first is that you don't need that damn bullhorn, the three of us can hear you just fine."

"And what's the second thing?" asked the general, taking the bullhorn away from his mouth.

"Before we get to that, I need to know why you want us to get out of our mecha." said Joseph, bending down onto one knee so he can see the general a little better.

"Well." said the general, as a slight sheen appears on his forehead. "We're going to take the vehicles apart and examine them with the utmost importance."

"Ha ha ha." said Joseph, straightening his mecha up to it's full and glorious hieght. He then turns and looks at his friends, switching to Japanese. "Van. Allen. Did you hear this goofball? He thinks that he can just get us to climb out and hand over our giamelf's to them."

"Makes you wonder what's going through his head, at this very moment." Van said, turning slightly to look at Joseph and raises his face plate so he can look at Joseph better. "Right Allen?"

"Seems about right, Van." said Allen, raising his faceplate and looking out over the crowd of soldiers, civilians, and police.

"Now general." said Joseph, switching back over to english and looking down at the general. "About that second thing."

"Yes?" the General asked, looking up at the three mecha's.

"Well the second thing is that my friend here," said Joseph, pointing over to the Escaflowne. "is technically attached to his suit through the use of magic. So it means that if you take apart his suit, you'll kill him and I don't think that you want his blood on you hands. Right?" All of a sudden, Joseph put's one of the slugs into the chamber of his cannon with a slight chunk.

"WHAT?" the general yells, as he takes a step back. "Are you kidding me?"

"I wish I was general." said Joseph. He then switches the Epsilon over to Guardian and starts to lift off, telling Van to switch the Escaflowne to dragon/flight mode and Allen to grab a hand of the Epsilon. As he's lifting off, he tilts the nose of the Harold foward a little, so he can see the general and vice versa. "But for now, general, I bid you ado. For we will meet again. For you have the promise of the pilot of the Epsilon Harold. Good day to you all."

With that said, Joseph takes off up into the sky with the Escaflowne flying up with him and the Shaharizade holding onto the arms of the Epsilon.

The End of:  
Part 10: Real World? Real Problems Part 1.

To be continued in:  
Part 11: Real world? Real Problems Part 2. 


	13. Real World, Real Problems Part 2

Attack of the New Zaibach: Part 11: Real world? Real Problems Part 2.  
By Rathorc Lemenger!!

(Authors note 1: Please don't sue me for any and all copyrighted characters. All other characters that are not in the original story line belong to me.)

"We're back." Joseph calls out, as he comes walking into the apartment with Van and Allen. He stops when he's met by silence. "Where is everyone?"

After a second of listening, Joseph goes and checks in the bedrooms only to find that they're empty.

"Joseph." Van calls out from the kitchen. "I found something."

"What is it Van?" Joseph asked, walking into the kitchen and stops beside Van. "What did you find?"

"This." said Van, handing Joseph a note that was hanging from the fridge.

"Okey." said Joseph, reading the note that was left. "It seems that my dear mother took everyone shopping. Which means that they'll probably buy out the whole of the store knowing Merle and my mom."

"What else does it say?" Allen asked, looking over his friends shoulder.

"Well." said Joseph, rereading the note. "It also says that Merle and the twins have a new ability. Then it goes on to say that they'll be home by about five this afternoon."

"That's only an hour or so away." Van said, looking over at the clock hanging on the wall. He then looks at Joseph and Allen with a raised eyebrow. "What do we do until then?"

"We could always watch some television or watch a movie." said Joseph, as he leads Van and Allen into the livingroom. "Your choice."

***********************

"We're home, daddy." Tamera calls out, as she skips into the apartment carrying a medium-sized bag in her left hand and wearing a new pair of pants and a new t-shirt.

"About time you guys showed up." Joseph said, as he walks into the hallway and towards the front door. "Where's your mother and the others at, Tamera?"

"They're on their way up, daddy." Tamera said, kicking off a new pair of shoes that she was wearing. She then holds the bag out to her father. "Here daddy. This is for you, I picked it myself."

"Why thank-you, sweety." Joseph said, kneeling down and takes the bag from Tamera. He then opens it and takes out a shirt, turning it towards himself, he reads it. After a couple of seconds, he looks up as Hitomi and the others come walking in carrying in more bags. He then stands up in order to look for his wife. "Where's Merle at?"

"I'm right here, Joseph." Merle answers, from the back of the group. As the group moves out of the way, a now human looking Merle steps forward, smiling and carrying the human twins in her arms. Merle and both of the twins are wearing new clothes more suitable for Earth. "What do you think?"

"Wow." said Joseph, jaw dropping. He then shakes his head and pulls up his jaw. "You look wonderful. Not that you never looked wonderful before, but... Wow."

"Why thank-you, Joseph." said Merle, blushing. She then walks over to Joseph and gives him a gentle kiss on the lips, she then steps back and looks down at the shirt, then to Joseph. "What do think of your shirt?"

"I love it. But..." said Joseph, turning the shirt to show everyone. "'World's greatest father?' Why did you guys have to choose this shirt for?"

"It's the truth daddy." said Tamera, looking from the shirt to Joseph, with a worried look on her face. "Don't you like it?"

"I love it, sweety." said Joseph, scooping Tamera up in his arms and kissing her on the forehead. He then grabs a bag from his mother and takes it into the livingroom. "Thank-you Tamera." He then looks over his shoulder at Merle. "Care to explain to me why you look so human, Merle?"

"Well." said Merle, blushing slightly as she follows Joseph. "I don't really know how to explain it to you. But, one minute I was thinking about what I'd look like as a human and the next I was like this."

"Hmm." said Joseph, putting Tamera back down onto the floor. "Looks like I'm going to have to talk to Malisk about this. It seems that the Magic affected you and the twins more differently then it did me. Besides, I love you no matter how you look." All of a sudden, Joseph gets a serious look on his face and looks at the others for a couple of seconds. "I wonder what else you all can do."

"Umm, Joseph." Hitomi asks, looking at Joseph with a confused look on her face. "Where's the Epsilon Harold and the others at? and what in god's name are you talking about?"

"You'll never guess the answer to the first question, 'tomi." answered Joseph, with a smile. "And we'll talk about the second question later."

"We hid them up on the roof." said Van, turning to the women. Once he see's Merle in her human guise, his mouth falls open. "Is that you, Merle?"

"Yes, lord Van." said Merle, smiling shyly. "It's me."

"Don't get too impressed Van. She's my wife." said Joseph, as he takes Alexander from Merle and starts to walk around with him. "So what did you ladies get today? And I certainly hope that you left things in that store for everyone else."

"You know, Joseph." said Millerna, stepping forward in a new dress. "Just the basics for us women."

"Meaning everything in the store." said Joseph, looking at the group as Alexander starts to babble. He then looks at Max, who's just shaking his head. "Right Max?"

"Don't you start to drag me into this, Joseph." said Max, chuckling and nodding to Joseph as he holds onto Tabitha with a arm around her waist.

"Joseph." said Elaine, looking at her son and grandson. "You know us better then that."

"It seems that I know you ladies too well for my own good." said Joseph, as a smile crosses his face. "What do you all say that we go out for the rest of the afternoon. Maybe rent some movies for tonight."

"Where would we go to, Joseph?" Merle asks, looking at Joseph with a raised eyebrow.

"Well. There's a festival in town." said Joseph, smiling down at his son. "We could go as a group and see it.  
Maybe get some good laugh's in also. It'll be fun."

"We don't have anything to wear to a festival, Joseph." Hitomi said, looking down at herself.

"It's not that type of festival, 'tomi." said Joseph, looking over at Hitomi. "It's a comedy festival called: the Buskerfest. There's some really good acts there."

"Can I go, daddy?" Tamera asked, tugging on Joseph's shirt.

"Of course you can, sweety." Joseph said, putting a hand onto Tamera's head. "I'll even wear that shirt that you got for me, okey?"

"Okey, daddy." said Tamera, smiling her biggest smile up at her father.

*******************************

"Well, that was an interesting time." said Van, laughing as he follows Joseph into the apartment while holding onto Hitomi.

"You were right, Joseph." said Hitomi, wrapping an arm around Van's waist and smiling. "I've never seen Van laugh so hard in all the time I've known him."

"I thought that you'd like it." said Joseph, carrying a sleeping Tamera in his arms. "It's a shame that Tamera fell asleep on the way home though."

"She had fun though, dear." said Merle, as she walks into the apartment carrying Alexander while Elaina walks in,  
holding onto Alexandria.

"Everyone had fun, Joseph." said Elaina, smiling and gooshing over her grand-daughter. "Not just Tamera."

"Hmmm." said Joseph, walking into the livingroom and placing Tamera on the couch. "I guess that you're right,  
mom. Besides, did you all see when Van started freaking out when that woman kissed him on the cheek? Talk about getting an earfull."

"Don't remind me." said Van, glancing over at Hitomi. "I don't need to go through that again."

*******************************

*The next evening*

"Well." said Joseph, as he sits down on the couch beside a now normal-looking Merle and throws an arm across her shoulder. "The kids are in bed and asleep. We can now officially relax."

"Hmm. I like that idea." said Merle, as she cuddles against Joseph and wraps an arm around his waist. "Especially since everyone else went out to enjoy themselves and we have the whole place to ourselves."

"What do you want to do?" Joseph asked, looking down at his wife and smiling. "We can do whatever you want to do."

"I just want to sit here with you and relax." said Merle, looking up at Joseph and smiling at him. "You know,  
sometimes I wonder why I married you."

"Well, I think I can answer that for you." said Joseph, looking up at the ceiling.

"Really?" Merle asked, moving closer to Joseph. "Care to enlighten me?"

"Well," said Joseph, looking back down at Merle. "I believe that you married me because I'm too handsome to leave alone and because you love me with all your heart."

"Your right about both, Joseph." said Merle, closing her eyes with a small laugh and putting her head against Joseph's chest. "Why did you marry me for?"

"Well." said Joseph, putting his head against the wall. "I married you for the obvious reasons. All of them good."

"Hmm?" Merle said, drowsily. "Which are??"

"You're the most beautiful, kind and considerate woman that I know." said Joseph, smiling down at Merle and is met with a small snore. After a couple of seconds he leans down and gives her a kiss on the top of the head. "And I love you with all of my heart and soul."

"I love you too." Merle mumbles, from deep in her sleep.

******************

"Daddy... Wake up, daddy." Tamera said, climbing up onto the bed and crawls over and sits beside Joseph's head.  
After a couple of seconds, she leans over and presses her fore-head against her father's so she can look into his eyes when he opens them. "Daddy, it's time to wake up."

"On who's opinion are you asking, Tamera?" Joseph asks, without opening his eyes. All of a sudden his hands come up and grab Tamera from either side as he starts to tickle her. "You gonna tell me short stuff??"

"Daddy.... Stop it...." Tamera answers, between laughs. "Please stop."

After a few minutes, Joseph stops tickling her and looks at his daughter as she calms down. A second later,  
Tamera jumps at Joseph and starts to tickle him back as the two of them start to laugh at each other. A minute later,  
Joseph climbs off the bed with Tamera in his arms, and walks into the dinning-room as a delicious smell greets his nose.

"Where, oh where, is that gorgeous smell coming from?" Joseph asks, popping his head into the kitchen to find the others standing around. He then looks at Van, as he's stirring a large bowl of pancake batter, and the others doing various things. "And what in Zeus's name is going on here??"

"Everyone decided to pitch in and cook breakfast, Joseph." said Merle, walking up to Joseph and giving him a kiss on the lips. She then walks back over to the stove with Hitomi. "Since we came here, you've been taking care of all our needs. So we figured that today is your day off."

As everyone's talking, Tamera walks into the kitchen and over to the fridge. Once there, she opens it and grabs the Minute Maid orange juice and places it on the table. She then walks over to the dish rack and grabs hold of her large cup, she then walks back over to the table and places her cup onto the table. After a couple seconds, she walks over to Joseph and tugs on his hand.

"What is it Tamera?" said Joseph, as he looks down at Tamera with a smile on his face.

"Can you pour the orange juice for me, daddy?" Tamera asks, looking up at her father and pointing over at the juice.  
"Please?"

"I sure can, sweety." said Joseph, walking over to the table and pours Tamera some juice. After pouring it, he hands the cup to Tamera and looks over at Merle. "Hey Merle. Where's the twins at?"

"They're in the livingroom." said Merle, turning and looking at Joseph. "And you don't have to worry, they were already fed."

"Ah." said Joseph, looking towards the living room as he puts the juice into the fridge. "I'll go and check on them.  
Just to make sure that they're okey."

"Go right ahead, Joseph." Merle said, smiling as she turns and looks at him. "No one's stopping you from seeing them, they're your kids."

"Good point." said Joseph, as he disappears around the corner and into the livingroom. Once he gets into the livingroom, he walks over to where the twins are laying down onto the carpet and looking around. "Hello you two."

Once they hear his voice, they turn they're heads and look in his direction, babbling the whole time.

"What are the two of you up to, hmm?" Joseph asked, sitting down on the carpet beside the twins. He then taps his lap, all the while smiling down at his two kids. "Care to tell your father what your up to?"

After a couple of seconds, Joseph sniffs the air and looks around. A second later he realizes that the smell is coming from the twins, who are both letting out happy sighs and smiling.

"Well, it looks you both need your bottoms changed." said Joseph, as he stands up and scoops both of the twins up in his arms. He then walks past the kitchen and into his and Merle's room.

"Joseph, where are you?" Hitomi calls out from the kitchen. "It's time for breakfast."

"I'll be right there, 'tomi." Joseph calls out, as he finishes putting the twins diapers on. "I'm just changing the twins bottoms."

Just then, the phone rings twice until some one answers it.

"Joseph." Max calls out, from the livingroom as Joseph lifts up the twins in his arms.

"What is it Max?" Joseph asks, as he walks into the livingroom.

"It's your mother, Joseph." said Max, as he holds the phone out for his friend. "She wants to talk to you. About what? I don't know."

"Thanks Max." said Joseph, handing the twins over to Merle and taking the phone from Max. "Yes mom? What is it?"

"You might want to put on the television and put onto the news channel." Elaine answered, from the other side of the phone. "And do it now."

"Oookey, whatever you say mom." said Joseph, as he grabs the remote and does what she told him to do. Once on the news channel, he see's the coverage of chaos and smoke on the screen. A couple of seconds later, the smoke clears to reveal twenty normal Zaibach giamelfs and one green Zaibach giamelf are totally obliterating the Canadian armies ground and air forces. "What the hell? What are they doing here??"

"What's wrong Joseph?" Van asked, walking into the livingroom and stopping beside Joseph, Max and Merle as they stare at the screen. "By the gods on the Mystic moon. They're all being slaughtered."

"I've got to do something. I'll talk to you later mom." Joseph said, hanging up the phone. As he walks over to the door, he grabs two headsets and tosses one to Van and puts on his. "Van, I need you here to let me know where the battle is taking place and if something goes wrong."

"Sure thing Joseph." said Van, as he puts his headset on just as Joseph disappears out the door.

*******************

After a few minutes of flying time, Joseph gets to where the battle is taking place only to the Zaibach giamelfs still engaged in the fighting with the Canadian forces. As Joseph looks down over the battlefield, he see's twenty tanks destroyed and laying all over the ground and the destroyed remains of army planes and helicopters.

"Okey, Van. I have'em in my sights and I'm going in." said Joseph, as he takes the Epsilon into Battloid mode.  
"Wish me luck you guys. I'll more then likely need it."

"Well, then Joseph." said Van, over the headset. "We all wish you good luck. Merle and Tamera want me to tell you to come back safely."

"No problem, Van. Tell Merle and Tamera that I'll do my best." said Joseph, as he's landing the Epsilon in the midst of the battle. He then switches over to the outer speakers. "Here's Joey."

All of a sudden, the Epsilon is surrounded by multiple explosions from both sides. After about a minute, the explosions stop while the smoke and dirt clear out of the air. While the air is clearing, the Epsilon charges out of the smoke right at the Zaibach giamelf's, as they start to cloak in order to escape.

"I really don't think so." said Joseph, slashing the two ejected swords down and through one of the giamelfs. "I really don't know what you all are doing here on earth. But your going to leave right now. One way or the other."

He then starts to engage the other giamelfs as the army and air force keep firing their guns and missiles at the mecha. After about five minutes later, the Epsilon Harold is hunched over the last one of the destroyed normal giamelfs, pulling his swords out of the armor when the sirens in the cockpit start to wail. Turning around, Joseph comes face-to-face with the green giamelf.

"Finally." said a female voice, from the cockpit of the giamelf. "I finally get to meet the pilot of the infamous Epsilon Harold that has been terrorizing the Zaibach forces."

"And you would be who, exactly?" Joseph asked, as he walks the Epsilon to the left and holding the blades in front of him. "And why are you attacking the soldiers?"

"Well. If you must know, my name is Phillippa Asteroth." said the woman, as she turns to keep an eye on Joseph as the two of them start to circle each other. "And they were the ones who attacked us first. They said that they wanted us to confiscate our giamelfs to them."

"Somehow, I don't believe that." said Joseph, as he points the lasers that are on the head of the Epsilon towards Philippa's giamelf. "Besides, even if that were true, it doesn't give you the reason to attack them."

All of a sudden, Phillippa lunges at Joseph as she creates two blades from the arms of her giamelf and slashing down. Joseph raises his blades, blocking the incoming strike. When the two pairs of blades strike each other,  
sparks fly off the blades as Joseph starts to fire his lasers and cuts off the arms of the giamelf. As the giamelf starts to stumble backwards, Joseph slashes down and splits the mecha down the middle.

"Now that that's done," said Joseph, as the blades get sheathed back into the arms of the Epsilon. "I'll be on my way. And before I forget," He turns to the Canadian forces as they cease the firing and switches to English. "You can take these mecha back to whatever secret military base that you have hidden and study them as much as you want. You can tell the general and the government that they're gifts from the pilot of the Epsilon Harold."

Once that's said, Joseph takes the Epsilon through to Guardian and starts to lift off. All of a sudden, A missile zooms in and strikes the Epsilon on the side right under the left wing, which rocks the Epsilon from side to side.

"What do you think your doing? I did nothing to you guys, only to get attacked from you." said Joseph, as he lands the Epsilon and takes it back over to Battloid. He then ejects the two blades and starts to walk towards the nearest tank, which starts to fire at him. "Now your going to learn your lesson from Mr. Epsilon."

A second later, Joseph rushes through the tank division until he reaches the end of the division and then kneels on one knee. A second later, all the tanks fall apart to reveal the soldiers in the them looking around. He then switches over to Guardian and flies up towards the planes. Upon reaching them, he flies past them at a high speed,  
creating a sonic boom which sends each of the normal jets spinning, and leaving them behind him. Joseph flies off towards his apartment.

********************************

"Hey guys." Joseph calls out, as he steps through the door and takes off his shoes. "I'm home."

Just as he's finishing taking off his shoes, Tamera let's out a small screech and zooms out from around the corner.  
When she gets close to where Joseph is, she lunges at him, wrapping her arms around his waist and hugs him.

"I missed you daddy." Tamera cries, looking up at her father with tears in her eyes and running down her cheeks.  
"W-when we didn't.... see you on..... the television... I thought that you were dead...."

"Shh Tamera. It's okey." Joseph said, kneeling down in front of Tamera and hugs her to him, putting her head on his shoulder and rubbing her back to calm her. "You know that I'd always try to get back to you, your mother and the twins."

After a few minutes, Joseph lifts Tamera up into his arms and carries her into the livingroom to where the others are waiting. Upon entering the living room, everyone stands up and rush over to Joseph in order to greet him.

"Oh Joseph, I'm glad to know that your safe and sound." Merle said, walking over to her husband and kissing him on the lips. A second later, she pulls away and studies Joseph for a couple of seconds. "Are you hurt anywhere?"

"Now why would I do something as stupid as getting hurt Merle?" said Joseph, putting Tamera down on the floor and taking the twins from Merle with a large smile. "You all should know me better then that. Other then having a kinked muscle at any rate."

"Unfortunately we know you too good, Joseph." said Hitomi, smiling and nudging Van in the side with her elbow.  
"Now that's a problem."

"Hmm." said Van, looking from Hitomi to Joseph and back again. "I have to agree with Hitomi on this."

"Traitor. You just have to side with the women on this, don't you Van." said Joseph, laughing and shaking his head while holding onto the twins. He then looks at Max with a raised eyebrow. "Who's side are you on Max?"

"Don't you drag me into this, Joseph." said Max, raising his hands and shaking his head. "I don't need to get in trouble with Tabitha, thank-you very much."

"Well." said Joseph, looking at the group, then looking down at Tamera and gives her a smile. "What does everyone think of going outside for some air? and maybe go to visit some of the museums as a victory celebration?"

"But what of the giamelf's?"asked Allen, as he looks at Joseph.

"They'll be safe as long as no one goes up onto the roof." said Joseph, looking at Allen.

"Sounds like a good enough idea to me, Joseph." Hitomi answered, nodding. "What do the rest of you think?"

"I want to go where-ever you go, daddy." Tamera said, tugging on Joseph's shirt.

"Well." said Joseph, watching the others nod their heads in agreement. "I guess that it's agreed, then. We're off to the museums."

**************************

"You know." said Joseph, stepping into the house while laughing and carrying Alexandria in his arms. "I'll never forget the look that Merle had on her face, today."

"Be quiet, Joseph." said Merle, stepping in through the door with Alexander in her arms and switches from her human form to her normal half-cat self. She then gives him one of her deadly-knife-throwing-glare."You know that I was unprepared for those, those things."

"It was still pretty funny, though." said Joseph, taking his son from Merle while she takes off her shoes. He then turns to Tamera as she walks in with the others. "Hey Tamera. What part of the museum walk did you enjoy?"

"I liked everything, daddy." said Tamera, smiling up at Joseph as she kicks off her shoes.

"But what was your favorite part?" asked Joseph, walking into the bedroom to change the twins diapers.

"Well daddy." said Tamera, walking into the kitchen and getting some water. "I liked seeing the boat being made. It was fun."

"That was interesting." said Tabitha, walking into the bathroom and shutting the door behind her. "More then what even I expected."

"Well." said Joseph, walking out of the bedroom with the twins in his arms, and into the livingroom. "The part that I liked most was having all my friends and my family with me, as we walked through the museums."

"That's so sweet of you Joseph." said Merle, kissing Joseph on the cheek and then taking Alexander from her husband. "We all enjoyed it too."

"Seems that way." said Joseph, sitting down on the chair with Alexandria on his lap. "Is it just me or does today feel a little odd to everyone?"

"What do you mean, Joseph?" Van asks, as he sits down on a kitchen chair that he brought into the livingroom from the kitchen.

"I don't know for sure, Van." said Joseph, looking at his friend. "I guess it's just me. But just in case, I want everyone to be on their toes."

"Okey daddy." Tamera says, as she sits beside Merle and starts to play with Alexander. After a few minutes,  
Tamera turns and looks at Joseph. "Can I watch some television, daddy? please??"

"You sure can, Tamera." said Joseph, as he smiles at his daughter.

Joseph reaches over to the nearby end table and grabs the remote for the t.v. and turns it on.

"What would you like to watch, sweety?" asked Joseph, glancing over at Tamera.

"Umm.... I don't know, daddy." said Tamera, tilting her head to the side. "What can I watch??"

"Well..." said Joseph, as he scans to channel listings. After a couple of seconds, he smiles a little bit. "I know that you're able to speak and understand English. So about that talks about Nature?"

"Why would you want Tamera to watch a nature show for, Joseph?" asked Merle, as she looks at her husband as Joseph is putting it onto a nature show and Tamera's starts to watch it.

"I figured that She'll learn something about nature and practice her English both at the same time." said Joseph,  
looking at Merle as the others starts to watch.

******************************

The next day, Joseph gets awaken by a bright light, which nearly blinds him. After about two or three minutes, the light finally fades to reveal, that he's laying in a field of tall grass and wild flowers at night. After a couple of seconds, Joseph sits up and looks around to find Merle, Tamera and the others of his group along with his mother,  
father, and Vicki laying in the grass sleeping. After a couple more seconds, Joseph stands up and turns to look behind. Just as he turns, he see's a couple of duffle bags on the ground in front of the Epsilon Harold, Escaflowne,  
and the Scherazade.

"Ah shit." said Joseph, as he's standing up. He then leans over Merle and carefully wakes her up. "Merle. You'd better get up."

"Hmm?" Merle asks, as her eyes flutter open. After a couple of seconds of looking around, she sits up and see's all the wild flowers around her. She then looks at Joseph. "Where are we at, Joseph?"

"I'll give you three guesses and the first two don't count." said Joseph, standing and looking around for a couple of seconds. He then looks down at Merle. "Okey Merle. What I'm going to need you to do is to look through the bags to see who's stuff is who's and then wake everyone up."

"Where are you going Joseph?" Merle asked, looking up at her husband and standing up.

"Well." said Joseph, walking over to the Epsilon Harold and getting the cyclone out of it's cavity. "I'm going to go and do some scouting of the area to see if my hunch is right." After a couple of seconds, Joseph looks over at Merle to see a worried look on her face as he's putting on his armor. "Don't worry Merle. I'll be fine."

"Be careful Joseph." said Merle, looking at her husband with a worried look in her eyes.

"I always am, sweetheart." said Joseph, climbing up on the cyclone and starts it up.

When Joseph has the cyclone running, he drives off and disappears into the woods.

************************

After driving for fifteen minutes through bushes and between tree's, Joseph finds a clear-cut trail and follow's it. A few minutes later, Joseph see's a squad of soldiers riding on horseback towards him. As Joseph drives towards the soldiers, the soldiers slow down and stop to watch as Joseph slows down and stops in front of them.

"Excuse me." said Joseph, climbing off the cyclone and walks towards the soldiers. "Could you be so kind as to tell me where I am?"

"Why yes." said one of the soldiers, who's obviously the captain of the squad. "Your in the country of Sparapetal."

"Okey." said Joseph, as the captains horse sidesteps to the left. "That's good to know."

"Pray tell, sir." said the captain, looking down at Joseph from his horse. What is your name and what is that thing that you were just riding on?"

"My name?" Joseph asked, looking up at the captain who just nods. "Oh yes. Sorry about that. My name is Joseph Edwin, and the thing is called a cyclone."

"Joseph Edwin?" The captain asked, as his eyes go wide and jumps down onto the ground. He then walks over and stands in front of Joseph. "THE Joseph Edwin."

"The one and only." said Joseph, looking at the captain with a raised eyebrow. "Is there a problem with my name?"

"It is a honor to meet you Lord Edwin." said the captain, kneeling down in front of Joseph, with his head lowered.  
"Me and my troops are at your disposal."

"Oookey." Said Joseph, looking down at the captain. "You may stand captain..... What is your name?"

"My name is Rupert Printon. Sir." Said Captain Rupert, as he stands up and looks at Joseph.

"Okey Captain Rupert. It is a pleasure to meet you." said Joseph, holding out his hand so he can shake Captain Rupert's hand. After they shake hands, Joseph looks back at the soldiers who are all kneeling on the ground. He then looks back at the captain and smiles slightly. "I need to ask three favors of you captain, if it's not too much trouble."

"Whatever you need, we shall try our best to help." said the captain, standing straight up at attention.

"Well," said Joseph, glancing from the captain to the soldiers and back again. "here's what I need you and your men to do...."

*****************************

"Hey guys, I'm back" said Joseph, pulling up beside the group and stops. Once he's fully stopped, Joseph puts down the kick stand and climbs off and walks over to the group. "Sorry for taking so long."

"Did you find out where we are, Joseph?" Millerna asked, watching Joseph as he reaches the group.

"Yeah, I did." said Joseph, taking off his helmet and brushing some hair out of his face. "But, I have a wierd feeling that something strange is going on."

"Really?" Merle asked, holding onto the twins. "Any clue as to what?"

"Don't know for sure, but I'm sure that I'll figure it out." Joseph said, looking around the field.

"Where are we, Joseph?" Max asked, watching Joseph.

"Oh yeah." said Joseph, looking over at Max. "We're in the country of Sparapetal. Now the question is: are we in a allied country, or an enemy country?"

"It's okey, Joseph." said Max, sighing and shaking his head. "We're in an allied country. This country belongs to my brother, so we're safe for now."

"Good." said Joseph, knodding his head. "Can I pick your brain for a minute, Max?"

"Go ahead, Joseph." Max said, with a raised eyebrow. "You know that you can ask me anything."

"Do you know anyone by the name of Captain Rupert Printon?" Joseph asked, picking up Tamera.

"Rupert Printon?" Max asked, and recieves a nod from Joseph. "Well, that's my brother's second hand man. Why do you ask?"

"Well, I met him when I was doing my scouting." said Joseph, holding onto Tamera. "I asked him to give us a hand with moving all our gear and people. What's your brother's name, Max?"

"His name's Sylvan, Joseph. Then something must be wrong if my brother sent Rupert out." said Max, looking around at the group.

"Just to be on the safe side," said Joseph, as Tamera gives him a hug around his shoulders. "I want everybody to take up positions throughout the area and then I'm going to need everyone to assume thier battleform if we get into trouble."

"Um, Joseph?" Vicki asks, looking around as Merle hands the twins to Calvin and Elaina, then disappears into the woods with Van and the others. Vicki then looks at her friend. "Where are we and how do we get home?"

"Oh geez." said Joseph, looking over at Vicki. "I didn't know you were here."

"You didn't answer my question, Joseph." Vicki said, with a worried look on her face. "Where are we?"

"Well, Vicki, we're now on Gea." said Joseph, glancing around at the group. "And if I were you, Vicki, I'd better get my gear together and try to help out some." looking around at his stuff. He then calls out. "Now let's get it together people. Be on your toes."

************************************

The End of:  
Part 11: Real world, Real problems Part 2.

To Be Continued in:  
Part 12: Encounter at Sparapetal!! 


	14. Encounter at Sparapental

Attack of the New Zaibach: Part 12: Encounter at Sparapetal By Rathorc Lemenger!!

(Authors note 1: Please don't sue me for any and all copyrighted characters. All other characters that are not in the original story line belong to me.)

*one week after arriving back on Gea.*

*******************************

"Oh man. Did anyone catch the number of that train?" said Joseph, getting up off the stone floor. After a couple of seconds of clearing his head, Joseph looks around to find that he's in the dungeon. "What in the world? How'd I get here?"

After a minute or two of clearing his head, Joseph gets up off the floor and feels his way over to the door. Once at the door, Joseph starts to pound at the door until finally, the gate to the window opens to reveal a pair of eyes hidden in shadow.

"What to you want?" asked a male voice, full of disgust, from the other-side of the door.

"What's going on here? Why am I in the dungeons for?" asked Joseph, glaring at the pair of eyes with the intensity of a caged animal. "And most important of all, where the hell is the rest of my group at??"

"Hahaha." laughed the guard, from the other-side of the door. "Don't you remember anything, fool?"

"Remember what?" yelled Joseph. "What am I supposed to remember what I did if my mind's a blank?"

"You are charged with treason against the country of Sparapetal and the Zaibach Empire. You are down here to await execution." said the guard, followed by another hardy laugh. "And as for the rest of your group. They're somewhere in the castle."

"You can't do this." yelled Joseph, as the guard closes the door to the window. "We didn't do anything to this country."

"We can and you did." laughed the guard, as his voice starts to fade.

Just as the guard's laughter fades a little ways into the distance, Joseph shifts into his battle-form (glowing all the while) and let's out a thunderous roar that rattles the door on it's hinges. Just as the roar disappears into the distance, Joseph's ears pick-up the thumping of footfalls coming towards his cell door. Just as the footfalls stop in front of his door, Joseph pounds on the door with his upper pair of arms. The force of the blow sends the door flying at the soldiers, sends both the door and the soldiers slamming against the far wall, knocking the soldiers unconscious.

"How dare you." yells Joseph, as he glares down at the soldiers. Just then, twenty Sparapetal soldiers appear on the stairs to Joseph's left, causing him to turn and face them.

Upon seeing Joseph in his battle-form, the soldiers skid to a stunned stop. After a couple of seconds, Joseph let's out another massive roar and sends out a ball of energy zooming towards the surprised soldiers. When it reaches the soldiers, it explodes and kills them all instantly as the fire engulf's all twenty of the soldiers. As the smoke clears,  
Joseph runs to the stairs at full speed, not taking the chance of spreading his wings to fly. As he runs up the stairs,  
Joseph checks to see if he still has Malisk with him but to no avail.

"Damn it." said Joseph, as he reaches the door at the top of the stairs and slams into it with all six of his hands,  
shattering it upon impact. He then steps through the broken doorway, shifting to his human form and runs down the hall. "Now all I have to do is find the others. Might as well check the throne room first."

After running through the halls, dispatching the soldiers that he finds along the way and picking up two swords as he runs by, Joseph reaches the throne room. Just before he touches the doors, Joseph carefully stops to listen for any sounds of alarm or pursuit. After a couple of seconds of listening for any commotion, he presses his hands against the doors and shoves them open with a dull groan of semi-rusted hinges to reveal the large cathedral-like throne room. Joseph then walks into the room, studying the shadows for any movement. Just as he reaches the middle of the room, clapping meets Joseph's ears, causing him to stop to look around the room in order to see where the sound is coming from.

"Bravo, Joseph." Sylvan says, as he steps from the shadows behind his throne and sits in the seat. "I applaud you for reaching this far and so soon. I'm impressed."

"Where is my wife and the rest of my group, Sylvan." Joseph growled, glaring at Sylvan as he starts to glow a deep orange in color. "If you hurt any of them, I'll kill you."

"Oh, I think you'll do no such thing, Joseph." said Sylvan, laughing slightly. He then gestures at the shadows around the room. "If you may not have already noticed, your surrounded by the very ones that you trust with your life."

Just as he finishes talking, Van, Allen, Merle, Hitomi, Max, Tabitha, Millerna and Tamera step out of the shadows,  
surrounding Joseph while growling at him, in their battle forms as their eyes starts to glow a deep scarlet red in color. A second later Calvin, Elaina and Vicki step out of the shadows from behind the throne, their eyes are also glowing a deep scarlet red. All Joseph can do is look at his friends and family, with a stunned look on his face. He then turns and glares at Sylvan.

"What did you do to them, you bastard?" Joseph asks, as his glow starts to get deeper and he shifts into his battleform.

"All I did was what anyone like me would do when you have people with such interesting abilities, I captured their minds and enslaved them. That's all I did." Sylvan answers, with an amused tone in his voice and a rather large smile on his face. All of a sudden, Sylvan reaches around to the back of his throne, when he brings his hand back around he's holding Malisk in his left hand and Tamera's sai's in his right hand. "This is one amazing sword that you had Joseph. But it's a pity that I had to take it from you as a gift from myself."

"You have no right to hold that sword, Sylvan." said Joseph, as he takes a step forward. "It's only for the chosen one. And we both know that's not you."

"Oh quite on the contrary, Joseph." said Sylvan, leaning forward with a smile on his face and putting the tip of Malisks blade on the floor. "As of right now I'm the chosen one and you are not."

"You can keep thinking that all you want, Sylvan." said Joseph, sneering at Sylvan and taking another step forward. "But I don't really give a damn. Now you have two choices, you can either let my friends and family go or you can die with that smile on your face. Your choice."

"Well." said Sylvan, leaning back in his throne again. "I guess that YOU can die." Sylvan then looks at the group,  
surrounding Joseph and stands up and walks to the door. "You may kill him, now. Be sure that you make it painful."

Just as he finishes saying that, Van and the others charge at Joseph howling and hissing all the while. Sylvan then steps out through the doorway and shuts it behind himself.

"I'm not going to fight you guys." said Joseph, shifting back into his human form and drops the swords. Just before they all converge at him, he looks down at his feet and lets out a sigh and looks back at the group. "It's been nice knowing you guys. I'm really sorry about this."

Just as he finishes saying that, Van and the others converge on him and start attacking him, and burying him under their bodies as they rip at him with thier claws and bite into him.

*****************************

*Five days later.*

Joseph wakes up to find that he's laying in a bed, and covered in blankets.

"Uhhh." says Joseph, as he tries to move only to find that all the bones in his body are broken in multiple places.  
After a couple of seconds, he clears his head enough to realize that all the cuts, bruises and slashes have been patched up and that there's wrappings covering the areas while in other area's there's peices of him missing. He then tries to open his eyes, but to now avail. "Ah shit." he mumbles.

After a minute of trying to move, a hand comes down on his shoulder and forces him back down into the bed.

"Stop moving." says a feminine voice, as the hands disappear only to return with a wet cloth. After a couple of seconds, the cloth's dipped onto Joseph's head and face. "You'll only make the wounds worse."

"Let go of me." growls Joseph, as he engages his regenerative powers. A minute later, he opens his eyes and focuses his eyes as the regenerative keeps going and healing him. After a couple of seconds of focusing, Joseph looks around the room to see that he's in a room with three large windows with the curtains drawn. As he looks around, he see's that there's a large door leading out to a patio, as he looks out the glass doors, he notices that it's night out. He then looks at the dim figure, only to see that it's too dark to make out the figure's face. It's only light enough to see that the figure is a woman. "Who are you?"

"Don't move or talk." says the woman, rubbing the face cloth across his face. "Just rest, relax and heal yourself."

"But I have to rescue my wife and my children." said Joseph, trying to get up only to be pushed back down again.  
"I have to find my youngest son and daughter before they die."

"Don't you worry about the babies, I've got them here in the room with us." said the woman, as she continues to wipe Joseph's face. "They're safe and sound asleep. Your wife gave them to me for safe keeping before she was taken control."

"But...but..." said Joseph, dosing off as a strange, fragrant smell asails him. "I've got to get the others out of Sylvan's control."

"You can do that once you are healed." said the woman, sounding a little distant for Joseph's liking. "But until then, they'll be safe. For now, you can call my Maria Igenglas."

After a little while, Joseph falls into a deep and troubling sleep, having dreams about what happened at the castle.  
Over the next couple of days, Joseph lays in bed and heals his body, while Maria takes care of Joseph and helps him heal up.

********************************

*Two weeks later, midnight.*

"I'm sorry Maria," said Joseph as he climbs out of bed and undoes the wrapping. "but I have to do this. If I don't,  
there's a chance that my family and friends will die. I don't want that to happen."

"But Joseph, you still haven't healed enough to do any rescuing." Maria says, while holding the twins in her arms.  
"You may die."

"I have to risk it, Maria." said Joseph, putting on a black shirt over his now healed wounds. The only things that show that he was wounded are a number of ragged and large scars. "I owe it to them to get them out of this bind.  
You think you could turn around?"

"Oh." said Maria, turning around and facing the other way as Joseph slips on a black pair of pants. "Sorry."

"Okey," said Joseph, as he walks over to Maria and kisses the twins on the forehead. "I'd better get going. I'll try to be back as soon as possible."

"Be careful, Joseph. Don't go getting yourself killed." said Maria, looking from Joseph to the twins and back again.  
"These kids still need their father."

"I won't." said Joseph, walking over to the dresser and grabbing the map that Maria had gotten for him, along with a dull black knife. He then slips out the window and out into the alley way. He then whispers up to the window as he disappears around the nearest corner. "Talk to you later."

After a little walking, Joseph gets to the castle and flies over the wall, softly landing in a dark corner of the courtyard. After watching the guards doing a couple of rounds, Joseph goes from pool of darkness to pool of darkness until he gets to one of the doors leading into the castle. Once in the castle, Joseph pulls out the map and studies it. After a few minutes of studying the map, Joseph makes his way to what should be Sylvan's sleeping quarters.

After half an hour of dodging Van and the others, along with the various other guards, Joseph finally reaches Sylvan's chambers. After a couple of seconds of waiting in the darkened hall and making sure that Sylvan isn't in his chambers, Joseph quietly and discreetly enters the chambers and walks over to the large canopy bed. Just as he reaches the bed, Joseph hears the faint footfalls of a group of people walking down the hall towards the bed chambers and stops dead in his tracks. After a couple of seconds of listening to the footsteps, Joseph quickly jumps up onto the bed and then leaps up into the canopy just as the footsteps stop right outside the room.

"We are here, my master." says Merle, as she opens the door to the bedroom, her eyes still glowing the deep red.  
"Is there anything you wish of us to do?"

"No, thank-you," answers Sylvan, as he walks into the room and is followed by Tamera and the others. "I don't need anything at the moment. By the way."

"Yes master?" Tamera asks, looking up at Sylvan.

"You did a good job in killing that bastard, Joseph." Sylvan said, looking around the room. He then walks over and leans Malisk against the wall. He then starts to get undressed in front of Merle and the others. "You may all leave now."

"Thank-you master" they all say at once, bowing at exactly the same time. After a couple of seconds, they all go walking out the door in silence.

Once Joseph knows that they're gone, he quietly let's go of what he was hanging onto and floats out of the canopy. Once out of the canopy, Joseph floats over to where Sylvan is standing changing into his night clothes and silently takes the knife out from where it was hidden under his belt. Just as he pulls the knife out, Joseph quickly shifts into his battle-form, he then quickly puts a hand over Sylvan's mouth just as he lets out a yelp of surprise.

"Hello Sylvan." Joseph said, while quickly grabbing Sylvan's arms and pinning them to the side. After a couple of seconds, Joseph waves the knife in front of his captives face while Sylvan starts to let out muffled screams. "My,  
my, my. It sounds like you didn't expect a visit from a dear old friend. It's such a pity that you won't be staying awhile longer, cause I really would like to have a chat with you about what you did to my family and friends. I guess that it can't be helped if you have to leave us so soon. Good bye and I'll be seeing you in hell."

All of a sudden, Tamera bursts through the door just as Joseph presses the knife to Sylvan's throat and cuts it from his left ear to his right ear so deep that it reveals the vertebrae of his neck. As he finishes cutting, Tamera let's out a loud scream and collapses to the floor, unconscious.

"What the hell?" Joseph asks, as he turns to see Tamera laying on the floor, in a heap. "Oh no, Tamera."

A second later, Joseph throws Sylvan's body out the window, shattering the glass on it's way out, and flies over to Tamera's collapsed body. Upon reaching it, he turns her over to check if anything is wrong with her. After checking to see if there's anything wrong with her, Joseph realizes that she's just unconscious.

"Good." said Joseph, lifting Tamera up and placing her on the bed. He then leans over and gives her a kiss in the top of the head. "You'll be alright."

A minute later, Tamera's eyes flutter open to reveal that they're not glowing anymore. When he see's that they're not glowing, Joseph sits down on the side of the bed and smiles down at Tamera.

"Hey, sweety." Joseph says, as he watches his daughter while moving her hair out of her face. "How are you feeling?"

"Daddy? Is that You?" Tamera asks, only to receive a nod and a large smile. A second later, Tamera sits up and throws her arms around Joseph's neck and starts to cry into his shoulder. "I thought... that I ....killed you."

"Shhh, Tamera." says Joseph, as he reaches behind Tamera's back and starts to rub it. After a minute, Joseph puts his hands onto Tamera's shoulders and pushes her out a little bit and looks into her eyes. "It's okey. It's obvious that you didn't kill me. Your forgiven. Besides, it wasn't your fault at all, sweety. What do you say that we go see to the to others, hmm?? Now wipe those tears away."

"Okey daddy." said Tamera, as she wipes her eyes and takes Joseph's hand. "Your right."

Joseph smiles, as the two of them climb off the bed and go walking out into the hall. When they step into the hall,  
Joseph looks to the left to find Merle and the others climbing up off the floor as they help each other up. After a couple of seconds, Joseph let's go of Tamera's hand and walks over to the group while shifting back to human and helps Tabitha up off the floor.

"Is everyone alright?" Joseph asks, looking from one stunned face to the other as everyone turns to look at him.  
"What? Do I have something in my teeth??"

"J-Joseph?" Merle asks, as she takes a step back and puts a hand to her mouth. "I-is that you?"

"The one and only." said Joseph, giving the group his best ten million dollar smile. "But in other words, yes, it's me."

Just as he finishes saying that, Merle steps foward and puts a shaking hand to Joseph's warm and sweety cheek.  
After a couple of seconds of having her hand on her husbands cheek, Merle lunges at Joseph and puts her arms around Joseph's chest and collapses to the floor while Joseph holds onto her. All Merle can do is just sob with happiness to see that her husband is alive and well. After a few minutes of being on the floor Joseph helps Merle to her feet and looks at the others to see that they're all wiping tears from their eyes.

"Umm, Max?" Joseph asks, as he turns to look at his friend. "Can you do me a little favor?"

"Anything, Joseph." Max says, stepping forward with a large smile on his face. "You just have to name it."

"C-could you find someone to run this country, please?" Joseph asks, while looking right at Max.

"Why do you ask, Joseph?" Max answers, as he gets a worried look on his face. "My brother, Sylvan, runs the country."

"Because, Max, Sylvan is no longer among the people of the living." said Joseph, as he bows his head. "I'm sorry to have to be the one to tell you this, but, I killed Sylvan."

"Y-you what?" Max asks, as his face gets a sober and stunned look on it while blood drains from it. "You did what??"

"You heard me, Max." said Joseph, looking into Max's eyes as a tear runs down his cheek. "I killed Sylvan. But I have a logical explanation, for what I did."

"Which is what?" Max asks, as his anger drips into his voice.

"I killed him in self defense for myself and for all of you, since you are all like family to me." said Joseph, as he keeps staring at Max. All of a sudden, Joseph steps away from Merle and walks up to Max and holds out a knife to him. "If you wish, Max, you can kill me for what I did. But I want you to know that I did it for everyone in this group and that I made it quick and painless for him, because you are like a brother to me."

"Max, calm down." said Tabitha, walking up to Max and placing a hand on his shoulder. "Joseph did the only thing that he could do. Especially since he returned after we all almost killed him."

"Tabitha, do me a favor before Max kills me for what I did." said Joseph, glancing at Tabitha.

"And what is that, Joseph?" Tabitha asked, turning and looking at Joseph as tears start to run anew.

"Please don't blame yourself." said Joseph, as he watches Max. "Sylvan was the one who was controlling all of you and making you his puppets and slaves."

"Your right, Joseph." Tabitha said, looking down at the floor. After a couple of seconds, Tabitha looks back at Joseph with tears rolling down her cheeks even faster and harder. "Thank-you for the advice. You are a good friend."

"I have the perfect punishment for you, Joseph." said Max, taking the knife from Joseph and throwing it to the floor with a dull thunk. He then looks at Joseph as his anger fades from his face and is replaced with sadness. "But I'm not going to kill you for what you did."

******************************************

*Two weeks later*

"I have to admit, Max." said Joseph, as he fixes the crown on his head while sitting on the throne, wearing a set of kings clothing. "This has to be the weirdest of all punishment that's happened to me."

"How so, Joseph?" Max asked, looking at Joseph with a twinkle in his eye and a rather large smile pulling at the corners of his mouth.

"Well. I hate to say this. But," said Joseph, turning and looking at the others. "I thought that you were going to kill me, as my punishment."

"I'm so sorry to have ruined your fun, Joseph." said Max, rolling his eyes. "But that's the best punishment that I can do to a man, who has saved both me and my country so many times that I've lost count."

"But you look so handsome, Joseph." Merle said, leaning over her from her throne and kissing Joseph on the cheek. As she pulls away, she takes Alexander from Vicki. "Besides, you seem to be enjoying yourself."

"Will everyone stop picking on me?" Joseph asks, as he gets up from the throne and walks over to the window.

"I'm not picking on you daddy." Tamera said, as she gets off her chair and walks over to Joseph and slips her hand into her fathers.

"I know, sweety." Joseph says, giving Tamera's hand a gentle squeeze. "It's just a joke."

Just then, one of the servants walks into the throne room and is followed by a messenger. When the two people reach the middle of the room, the messenger goes into a one kneed bow as the servant walks out of the throne room. After a couple of seconds, Joseph turns and looks at the messenger with a raised eyebrow of curiosity.

"Can I help you with anything?" Joseph asked, as he walks over to the throne and sits down. "But before you answer that, what is your name?"

"My name, sir, is Turen Le Liftume and I bring a message from the Ziabach empire to King Sylvan." the messenger answered, rising to his feet. "Is that you, sir?"

"Why yes." said Joseph, glancing at Max out of the corner of his eye as Max gives Joseph a almost imperceptible nod. Joseph then looks back at the messenger and smiles. "I am Sylvan. You may give me the message."

"It is for your ears only, sire." said Turen, glancing at Merle and the others.

"Very well, Mr. Liptumes." said Joseph, as he looks at the others. "If you folks could please excuse us....."

"As you wish, m'lord." Max said, bowing at the waist and leading the others outside. But before Max disappears through the closing doors, he mouth's the words: Be Careful.

After a few minutes of waiting outside, Max and the others hear Joseph's voice rise up in anger and surprise. A minute later, the door slams open to reveal Joseph dragging a struggling Turen by the scuff of the shirt. As he steps out into the hall, he flings Turen up against the far wall with such force that everyone in the hall flinches with the sound of the impact.

"As far as I'm concerned, you can tell those fools that you call Zaibach leaders that our treaty is ended from this minute on. Now get the hell out of my country." Joseph yells, glaring down at Turen with rage in his eyes. He then turns to Max and nods to the door. "Get the group inside please." As the group walks back into the throne room,  
Joseph grabs one of the passing servants and looks at her calmly. "Can you please go get the castle's blacksmith and my generals? And then escort this bastard of a pig, out of my castle." he asks gently.

"As you wish, your Eminence." the servant said, bowing deeply.

"Thank-you." said Joseph, as he let's go of the servants arm. He then walks into the throne room and shuts the doors behind him.

"What's going on, Joseph?" Merle asks, as Joseph sits down on the throne. "Why were you yelling for? Is everything alright?"

"Well." Joseph started, looking over the group. "While we've been busy, Zaibach's been doing some chores."

"How so?" Max asked, looking out the window and into the courtyard.

"Max, Millerna, Van. You may not like what I'm about to tell you, but." said Joseph, leaning his head back against the throne and closing his eyes. "The Zaibach messenger has just informed me that your countries are now part of the new Zaibach Empire. I'm sorry."

"WHAT?" Max yells, turning to Joseph as his face goes a deep scarlet red.

"You heard me, Max." said Joseph, opening his eyes and looking at Max. "But if it's of any value, you may consider my country your country."

"I'm sorry, Joseph. It's not you that I'm mad at, it's Zaibach." said Max, forcing himself to calm down. "And thank-  
you for the offer, but I have to get back to my country in order to defend my people."

"I have to get back to my country also, Joseph." Millerna agreed, as she and Van both nod their heads in agreement.

"Okey." said Joseph, looking between his friends. "But give me three days, so I can work on a plan that just popped into my head." Joseph added, with a grin.

"Whatever plan you have rolling around in there ought to be a good one, Joseph." said Vicki, as she looks at his sardonic grin.

"Vicki. All my plans are good one's." said Joseph, as four men enter the room. "There you are." Joseph added, as the men stopped and bowed.

"You wanted to see us, your Eminence?" asked the blacksmith, as he and the three generals straighten up from their bows.

"Yes I did, Jonas." said Joseph, straightening up some. He then looks at Van and the others. "If you would excuse me, please. I need to work on the plan."

"Okey dear." Merle said, getting out of her throne and leading the others out of the room. Before she steps through the door, Merle looks back at Joseph and blows him a kiss. "I'll see you later, sweetheart."

***********************

*Three days later.*

"How's that plan coming, Joseph?" Van asked, leading the group into the throne room.

"It's coming along fine, Van." said Joseph, looking up from the schematics that he was studying with Jonas. "It's almost ready to roll. All I need now is to get some info from you guys."

"Like what, Joseph?" Max asked, putting his pack down onto the floor.

"Well." said Joseph, scratching his chin and watching Jonas as he leaves the room with the schematics. "Is there anyone that we can trust in your separate countries?"

"I don't know, Joseph." Hitomi said, studying Joseph for a couple of seconds. "You have another insane plan,  
don't you Joseph?"

"I wouldn't quite call it insane, Hitomi." said Joseph, rubbing his hands together. "But yeah. I have a plan which might just get Zaibach out of your countries for you while keeping civilian losses to a minimum. Hopefully."

"What does 'civilian' mean daddy?" Tamera asked, tugging on Joseph's shirt.

"It means people who are not part of any military or army, Tamera." Joseph answers, looking down at Tamera with a smile on his face.

"So what's this plan, Joseph?" Vicki asked, stepping forward.

"One word, Vicki." said Joseph, looking at his friend and placing a hand onto Tamera's shoulder. "Rebellion."

"Rebellion, Joseph?" Millerna asked, as her brow creases with worry. "Are you sure that that's such a wise idea?"

"Millerna.... You should know me better then that." said Joseph, chuckling to himself. "I already did up the plans and sent some of my best soldiers to each country to set up several headquarters. After doing a little spring cleaning in thier heads of course."

"Impressive, Joseph." said Calvin, shaking his head. "Now I know why Max made you his general. You're a natural at this type of thing."

"Oh, I haven't even gotten to the best part yet." said Joseph, as his smile gets bigger and his eyes get brighter. "I just did the best coup-de-gras, I ever did."

"What-else do you have planned, Joseph." Allen asked, tapping his foot against the floor in impatience, while looking at Joseph with a raised eyebrow.

"Well," said Joseph, looking up at the ceiling and then looking at Allen. "you know those sheets that me and Jonas were looking at when you all came in here, right?"

"What of them?" Van asked, looking at Joseph with a suspicious look in his eyes.

"Those sheets were, in fact, schematics for new weapons and Gaimelfs that I just ordered put into production."  
said Joseph, turning to Van. "The Giamelf's are going to be stronger, tougher and faster then any known Giamelf in exsistance other then the Epsilon Harold. They're also going to have added items to them."

"You've got to be kidding me, Joseph." Max said, running a hand through his hair.

"That's not the only thing, Max." Joseph said, taking his hand off of Tamera's shoulder and starts to stroke her hair.  
"Once they're made, I'm sending them to the resistance cells with someone who's trained in using them."

"Your going all out, aren't you Joseph?" Max asked, looking at his friend with a knowing eyebrow.

"Of course." said Joseph, grinning like a mad man. "Beside, I'm also going to send some spies into the Zaibach forces and try to also get them from the inside in a pincer attack while both my forces and those of the resistance are getting them from either side."

"Holy shit, Joseph." said Vicki, looking at Joseph with wide, worried eyes. "Are you crazy?"

"I'm as crazy as a fox, right now." said Joseph, smiling at his friends. "Because I'm doing at least some good for everone's safety."

*********************************

The End of:  
Part 12: Encounter at Sparapetal!!

To Be Continued in:  
Part 13: Summon Thy Allies. 


	15. Chapter 15

Attack of the New Zaibach: Part 13: Summon thy allies.  
By Rathorc Lemenger!!

(Authors note 1: Please don't sue me for any and all copyrighted characters. All other characters that are not in the original story line belong to me.)

*Four weeks after Part 12*

"Come in." Joseph calls, looking up from his work when he hears someone knocking on his office door.

After a couple of seconds, the door opens as Tamera skips into the room wearing a blue dress with white trimmings.

"Hi papa." Tamera says, smiling as she stops beside her father. "I was wondering when are you coming down into the schoolroom?"

"Oh." said Joseph, looking down at his watch. "Sorry, sweety. I didn't know what time it was."

"Are you coming down now, papa?" Tamera asks, tapping her foot on the floor in mock irritation.

"Of course I am, Tamera." said Joseph, standing up and holding out his hand for Tamera. "Shall we go?"

"Yes, papa." said Tamera, taking her fathers hand and leading him out into the hall. "Let's."

After a few minutes of walking, Joseph and Tamera enter a rather large room that has been converted into a school room. As Joseph walks over to his desk, he looks around the room to see that the twenty other children, that live in the castle and the surrounding area, are all sitting at their proper desks. Upon reaching his desk, Joseph sits down in the chair as Tamera sits at her desk.

"Good morning, children." said Joseph, smiling and looking at his students.

"Good morning, professor." All the kids say as one.

"Is everyone ready to start to learn, today?" Joseph asks, his smile getting bigger while a happy twinkle appears in his eyes.

"Yes, professor." said all the students, as they nod their heads.

"That is good to hear." said Joseph, as he reaches across the desk to get the sheet of names. "Before we start, I'm going to call out your name and I want you to stand and say that you're here. Then I want you to sit back down in you seat while I call out the next persons name."

**********************************

"That was a long one." said Joseph, as he sits at the dining room table as the others start to filter in. "Even for me."

"What are you talking about, Joseph?" Max asked, sitting down in a nearby chair.

"What I mean, Max, is the fact that I'm almost twenty-six and I'm running a country while I'm making plans for the resistance cells and teaching kids in the new school." said Joseph, smiling as Merle sits down on one side of him,  
holding Alex, and Tamera sits on the other side of him. "It's hard work."

"Well you seem to be doing a fine job, Joseph." Maria said, sitting down with Zander in her arms. "I'm sure that no one else can pull off the things that you are. Besides, all of the people in this country love and trust you now."

"Thanks Maria." said Joseph, smiling at the twins babysitter and Merle's new friend. "I guess I needed that."

"She's right Joseph." said Van, looking at Joseph as he and Hitomi sit in their chairs. "Your doing something that not everyone can do."

Just then, one of the female servants walks over to Joseph and clears her throat to get his attention.

"Yes? What is it Katherine?" Joseph asks, looking up at the female servant with a cocked eyebrow.

"There is some one here to see you, your majesty." said Katherine, in low voice as she bows. "It seems that the person is in urgent need to see you."

"Did you get their name, Katherine?" Joseph asked, getting up and walking towards the door with Katherine following behind him. "And where is this person waiting at?"

"He said that his name is Dryden. But I never got his last name, you majesty. He's waiting in the throne room. I hope that your not angry with me, your lordship." said Katherine, as a gasp escapes from everyone except from Tamera, Joseph, Max, Tabitha, Vicki and Joseph's parents.

"No, I'm not angry with you in the least, Katherine. Your just doing your job, and I thank-you for letting me know."  
said Joseph, stopping and looking at Katherine. He then looks towards a white faced Millerna as his cocked eyebrow shoots higher up onto his forehead. "Isn't that the guy that you told me about, Millerna? The one that,  
ummm, you know?"

"Yes, Joseph." said Millerna, as she fixes her composure. "He's one and the same."

"Ahhh." said Joseph, nodding as he turns and walks to the door. Upon reaching the door, Joseph stops and looks back to the group. "Do you guys want to join me? He might want to see you all again."

"Sounds good to me, Joseph." Hitomi said, as she gets up from her chair.

"It sounds really good, Joseph." said Allen, getting up. "I need to have a little chat with him any way."

"Well then." said Joseph, as he opens the doors and smiles. "It's an official vote. We should go meet and greet our esteemed guest."

Joseph then walks into the hall, after telling the cook to hold supper for a little bit longer, and proceeds towards the throne room while the others follow him. Upon reaching the doors to the throne room a few minutes later, Joseph turns an looks at the group.

"Okey, everyone." said Joseph, when the group has gathered around him. "Here's the plan. I'll be the first to go in,  
so that if there's trouble, I won't have to worry about anyone getting hurt. But if it's safe, I'll call you with my telepathy."

"I don't know if that's such a good idea, Joseph." said Van, shaking his head. "But I have to agree with you on the fact that it'll be a little safer."

"Don't worry, Van." said Joseph, laying a hand onto Van's shoulder. "Everyone here knows that I'll be safe.  
Besides, I've been through a lot worse then some meeting, Van. You know that as well as I. The only big thing that I have to really worry about is falling asleep."

After a couple of seconds, Joseph let's go of Van's shoulder and walks into the throne room. As he walks towards his throne and the door shuts, Joseph notices a slight reflective glint as if light was reflecting off of a pair of glasses from the shadows to the side. A second later, Joseph climbs up the steps to the throne and sits down.

"What can I do for you, Mr. Dryden, on this fine evening?" Joseph asked, turning towards the area that he seen the light reflection at. A second later, Dryden steps out from the shadows near one of the windows.

"Well, your majesty." Dryden began, as he steps in front of the throne with his back to the doors and looking around nervously. "I have come to ask..."

"Let me guess." said Joseph, interrupting Dryden and rubbing his chin. "You want me to send some of my countries Gaimelfs to another country so they can rescue either that country or some one that's important to you that's there. Am I right?"

"Yes, sir." said Dryden, sounding a little annoyed and surprised by Joseph's interruption. "You have just got the question in one hit."

"Well, I don't know." said Joseph, hiding a smirk behind his hand as he calls the group into the throne room with his telepathy. "But, I'll have to ask my advisers about that."

"Your advisers, sir?" Dryden asked, not hearing the doors open silently and then close just as quiet.

"Of course." said Joseph, as he stand up when he see's the group step into the light. "In fact, here they are now."

"What do you wish, your majesty?" Millerna asked, smiling and making Dryden jump out of his slippered shoes.

"M-Millerna?" Dryden asks, turning and blinking at Millerna. "Is that you?"

"Of course it's me, Dryden." Millerna answers, as she walks forward to stand in front of Dyden as his mouth drops nearly a foot. "How are you faring?"

"I'm fine." Dryden said, bringing his jaw back up into it's proper place. He then looks Millerna up and down as if he something's wrong. "What are you doing here? And why are you wearing those unusual clothes? I thought that you were captured when you country was over run by Zaibach."

"That's an interesting theory, you have, Dryden." Hitomi sad, as Merle and Tamera walk up to sit on either side of Joseph with the twins cradled in thier arms.

"Hitomi?" Dryden said, turning to see the others standing there as if he just noticed them. "What are all of you doing here? I thought that you went back to the mystic moon."

"We're all here for the same reason, Dryden." Allen said, as he watches Dryden looking Millerna up and down.  
"We're fighting the Zaibach empire from a allied nation as allies."

"What?" Dryden asked, turning and facing Allen. "Who the hell asked you, Allen?"

"You did, Dryden." said Millerna, as she glares at her one time husband as her eyes start to glow a deep yellow and a red glow envelopes her body. "You should not be getting pissed off at Allen. He never did anything to you, and what do you do? You yell at him for no reason."

"What are you..." asked Dryden, turning around he stops when he see's Millerna's glowing eyes. "W-what the hell?"

"Millerna." said Joseph, looking at his friend with a bored look on his face.

"WHAT?" Millerna yells, turning around and glares at Joseph.

"You can calm down now." said Joseph, as his voice carries a warning to his friend. "'Cause your glowing."

"I never asked you for your opinion, Joseph." Millerna said, with a growl. She then turns and stomps out of the throne room with a furious air about her.

"What the hell is going on here?" said Dryden, as he starts to back off, looking at everyone in the throne room.  
"What are you people?"

"Well," said Joseph, looking at Dyden with an amused look on his face. "We're just people, like you, but we got changed in an accident. That's all." He then turns and looks at Hitomi, who just nods her head and walks out of the throne room after Millerna. "If you want to hear the story, I'll be glad to tell it and answer any and all questions you might have."

"S-sure. That seems to be a good idea." said Dryden, nodding his head and sweating perfusily.

"And if I might make a suggestion to you, Dryden." said Joseph, as he receives a nod. "You might want to give Millerna some time and breathing room to get adjusted to having you back into her life."

******************************

*The next afternoon.*

"Come in." said Joseph, with out looking up from his paper work.

"ummm, Joseph?" Millerna asked, poking her head into Joseph's office. "Call I talk to you for a minute?"

"Sure thing, Millerna. Just have a seat and I'll be right with you." said Joseph, as he finishes reading some paper work and signs the document. A minute later, he looks up to see Millerna sitting in the chair with red puffed up eyes from crying. "What do you want to talk to me about?"

"I just wanted to say that I'm sorry about what I did yesterday, Joseph." said Millerna, looking down at her feet and sniffs a little bit. "I hope that you can forgive me."

"Sure thing Millerna. Your forgiven." said Joseph, shrugging and leaning back in his chair as he gets a surprised look from his friend. "You don't have to worry about apologizing to me, cause I can understand what's going on."

"Really?" Millerna asked, sounding a little skeptical while wiping her nose with a handkerchief.

"Sure." said Joseph, giving his friend a gentle smile. "After all, it's not everyone that has someone they love walk back into their life after so many years and not throw a small fit. Can you just imagine what would happen if I was in your shoes?"

"Your right, Joseph." said Millerna, laughing a little bit. "I can just picture that scene now. Knowing you, you'd probably start throwing people out the windows and banging heads together, all the while ranting and raving about this, that and the other hundred and some odd things."

"You give me too much credit, Millerna." said Joseph, smiling as his good friend just laughs at the picture in her head. "Now that's the Millerna we all know and love."

"Joseph," said Millerna said, smiling after a couple of seconds of laughing and looks at Joseph. "You really know how to cheer up a person. You know that?"

"If I didn't, I wouldn't be where I am now." said Joseph, when another knock sounds on the office door causing both Joseph and Millerna to turn towards the door to see Dryden standing there with a sheepish look on his face.  
"Yes, Dryden? Can I help you with something?"

"Well, I was kind of hoping to talk to Millerna alone for a few minutes." said Dryden, glancing from the two friends.  
After a couple of seconds he moves to turn around. "But if your busy, I'll come back later."

"No no, Dryden." said Joseph, getting out of his chair and walks over to Dryden. He then takes Dryden by the arm and leads him into the office. "By all means, you can come in here to talk to her while I skedaddle out of here."

"You sure, king Joseph?" Dryden asked, raising an eyebrow while looking at Joseph.

"Of course I am. Besides, you have some catching up to do." said Joseph, walking over to the door and steps out closing it behind him. A second later, he pokes his head back in as Dryden opens his mouth to say something. "Oh.  
One more thing, Dryden."

"What, king Joseph?" asked Dryden, looking at Joseph.

"Lose the title." said Joseph, smiling at the couple. "It's just Joseph. I really hate the formalities."

"As you wish, ki... I mean Joseph." said Dryden, bowing slightly at Joseph.

"Thanks." said Joseph, as his head disappears out into the hall as he closes the door and walks down the hall.

After a few minutes, Joseph walks out into the courtyard to see Van and the others talking in the nearby shade and is met with a large yell from Tamera as she tackles him with a loud laugh.

"papa." said Tamera, as she looks up at her father and a smile on her lips.

"Hey sweety." said Joseph, lifting Tamera up and putting her onto his back, so as to give her a piggy-back ride.  
"How is my big girl doing?"

"I'm fine, papa." said Tamera, holding onto Joseph from his shoulders. "Are you having fun?"

"Now that you're here, Tamera, I am." said Joseph as he starts to walk over to the rest of the group. When he reaches them, he smiles at them. "Hey guys."

"Oh, hi Joseph." said Allen, turning to look at Joseph with a worried expression on his face.

"What's wrong with you guys?" Joseph asked, looking from one worried person to the next. "You smell like you're all stressed out about something."

"Well." said Hitomi, glancing at the others. "Millerna's gone missing. We can't find her anywhere."

"Millerna's up in my office, talking with Dryden." said Joseph, tilting his head back towards the castle. "You guys don't have to worry."

"When it involves Dryden, I worry." said Allen, looking up at the window to Joseph's office with a unusual look.

"Yeah. Okey, Allen." said Joseph, looking at Allen with a suspicious look as he sets Tamera down and takes Alex from Elaina. "C'mere, beautiful."

After a little while of talking to the group and making plans for the resistence, Joseph looks towards the castle to see Millerna and Dryden walking towards the group at a slow pace as they talk and laugh. After a couple of seconds, Joseph looks down to see that Millerna is wearing a different dress then what she was earlier.

"Hey Millerna." said Joseph, smiling as he pretends to not to notice the change of clothes. "Did you have a wonderful time chatting?"

"Um... Yes, Joseph. We did." Millerna said, blushing a deep red. "I was just telling Dryden about when the two of us first met."

"That's good." said Joseph, smiling at Millerna as he rocks Alex back and forth. "At least your having fun and enjoying yourselves."

"Yeah, something like that." said Dryden, glancing at Millerna with a small smile on his face.

"Excuse me please." said Allen, as he walks off with a look of indifference. "I have something to take care of."

"Oh Allen." Millerna said, with a worried look on her face as she watches Allen walk into the castle.

"Okey, this is just getting a little old." said Joseph, as he hands Alex back to Elaina. "Here mom, hold Alex. It looks like I'll have to go and talk with Allen."

With that, Joseph walks back into the castle and starts to look for Allen only to find him in one of the other courtyards, standing in front of a small pond throwing small stones into the water. After a couple of seconds,  
Joseph walks over to where Allen is standing and stops next to him.

"Care to explain to me what's going on Allen?" Joseph asked, with out looking at his friend. "You seem oddly depressed right now. It's unusual for you to be like this."

"Nothing is wrong, Joseph. But thank-you for asking." said Allen, looking down at the pond with eyes full of sadness.

"It's about Millerna, isn't it?" Joseph asked, looking at Allen from the corner of his eye.

"Yes." said Allen, closing his eyes and nodding with a small sigh. "It is."

"Ahh." said Joseph, as he looks down at their reflections in the pond water and see's Millerna's reflection as she stands in the door and smiles a little. "You love her, Don't you?"

"Yes, I do." said Allen, tilting his head up towards the sky as he let's out a sigh. "For some reason, I can't keep her out of my mind. Yet, it seems that she doesn't even know that I'm here. Not to mention that ever since Dryden showed up, she's ignored me as if I'm not there."

"Yes, I guess that I can understand that." said Joseph, nodding and turning slightly as he watches Millerna step out of the doorway with tears streaming down her cheeks. "But if I were you, I wouldn't worry too much about that."

"What do you mean?" Allen asked, opening his eyes and turns to look at Joseph.

"Well." said Joseph, pointing over at Millerna as she steps more into the courtyard. "I think she now knows how you feel."

"Huh?" Allen asked, turning to see Millerna standing there. "Millerna?"

"Oh Allen." said Millerna, as she takes a step forward. All of a sudden, she runs to Allen and wraps her arms around him. "I never knew you felt like that."

"I'd say that this is where I disappear." said Joseph, walking through the door and into the castle as Allen and Millerna kiss. "I'll talk to you guys later."

******************************

*The next day.*

As the day wears on, Joseph is patiently working away at taking care of some paper work when Tamera comes running into the room, wearing a red t-shirt and black pants with her hair done up into a ponytail.

"papapapapapa." Tamera squeals, as she runs over to stand beside Joseph and takes his hand in hers. "Guess what papa?"

"What is it Tamera?" Joseph asked, turning and looking at his daughter with a worried look on his face. "Is something wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong, papa. But there's something that I want to show you. Something that I can do." said Tamera,  
jumping up and down out of pure joy. "But I have to do it outside."

"Okey. That's a relief to know, Tamera." said Joseph, as he stands up. He then scoops Tamera up into his arms.  
"Well, why don't we go outside so you can show me then, Tamera."

After a few minutes, Joseph and Tamera walk into the one of the many courtyards. Once into the middle of the courtyard, Joseph puts his daughter down on the ground and smiles down at her.

"Okey, sweetie." said Joseph, looking down at Tamera and scuffs her hair a little bit. "Why don't you show me what you wanted to show me, hmm?"

"Okey papa. but you have to move over so I can stand here." said Tamera, looking up at Joseph with a smile on her face.

"Sure thing, sweety." said Joseph, as he moves out of the way and sits down on a nearby bench. "Okey, I'm ready Tamera. Go ahead. Is this fine?"

"That's fine, papa." said Tamera, as she nods her head. All of a sudden, she spreads her feet wide and puts her hands out in front of her. She then closes her eyes and starts to mumble in a small whisper.

After a couple of seconds, Joseph see's the air starting to ripple as if he's outside on a hot day. A second later, a large shadowed shape starts to appear from the ground up. A minute later, a large mammoth appears in front of Tamera. Seeing the mammoth, Joseph quickly stands up and stares with an open mouth. After a two seconds of looking around, the mammoth raises it's trunk and lets out a large, loud trumpet. All of a sudden, the mammoth disappears in a puff of smoke as Tamera breaks her concentration and turns to look up at her father with a large smile on her face.

"Did you see what I did, papa?" Tamera asks, running over to Joseph and taking his hand in her hands.

"I-I sure did, Tamera." said Joseph, shaking his head to clear it. He then picks Tamera up in his arms. "I'm really impressed, Tamera. I never thought that you could do something like that."

"I know, papa." said Tamera, smiling at Joseph. "This morning, I was thinking about a mousie. All of a sudden, the mousie appeared in my hands."

"Well, I think we should let the others know about what you can now do." said Joseph, smiling as a group of soldiers come running into the courtyard with their weapons in hand and being led by Rupert Printon. "Hello,  
Rupert. What are you doing here?"

"Sorry your majesty," said Rupert, giving Joseph a courtly bow as the other soldiers surround the three of them.  
"But we heard a loud trumpet and thought that you were in serious trouble."

"Sorry Mr. Printon." said Tamera, as she's set down by her father. "It was my fault. I had a little accident."

"That's okey, princess Tamera." said Rupert, giving Tamera a small bow. "It should be me that should be saying that I'm sorry. So I'm sorry for the intrusion."

"That's okey, Mr Printon." said Tamera, smiling as she reaches up and takes Joseph's hand. She then looks up at her father with a twinkle in her eye. "Daddy, can we go show mommy and the others?"

"I have a better idea, Tamera." said Joseph, looking down at Tamera, smiling. "How about we get them to come here and then we can show the others then, okey?"

"That's a good idea, papa." said Tamera, as her smile gets bigger.

"Then let's do it, shall we?" said Joseph, as he contacts the group using his telepathy. A second later, Joseph blushes slightly and let's out a shudder. "I didn't need to see that."

"See what, papa?" Tamera asks, as she let's go of Joseph's hand and walks over to look at some of the roses.

"Oh, nothing sweety." said Joseph, glancing over at Tamera.

A few minutes later, when the group is gathered in the courtyard, Joseph looks at the group with a rather large smile on his lips.

"You wont believe this," said Joseph, as he looks at all the faces as they fill with curiosity. "but Tamera just did something spectacular a few minutes ago."

"What is it dear?" Merle asked, as she rocks Zander in her arms.

"Hehehe. You'll see." he said, as he turns to look at Tamera while rubbing his hands together. "Go ahead, Tamera.  
But make sure it's something small though."

"Okey papa." said Tamera, as she turns and poses in the pose she used to summon the mammoth. After a second of concentrating, Tamera raises her arms and wiggles her fingers while mumbling a little bit under her breath.

After a couple of seconds, a small shadowed form starts to materialize as if coming out of a fog bank. As the gathered group of adults watch, the shadows disappear to reveal a small five-week old white kitten. After a couple more seconds, Tamera stops mumbling and reaches down to pick up the blinking, mewling kitten.

"Did you see that, grandma?" Tamera asks, as she walks to the amazed adults with the kitten, mewling in her arms.

"I certainly did Tamera." said Elaina, looking down at her grand daughter, while holding Alex in her arms. A second later, she kneels down in front of Tamera and smiles. "In fact, I'm impressed at what you can do now, Tamera."

"Thank-you grandma." Tamera said, blushing and holding the kitten to her. A second later, she looks down at the kitten then looks up at Joseph with a look of curiosity on her face. "Daddy. Can I keep the kitty?"

"I don't know, Tamera." said Joseph, rubbing his bearded chin. He then looks at Merle with a cocked eyebrow.  
"What do you think Merle?"

"Why not, Joseph." said Merle, smiling at her husband while rocking Zander in her arms. "Shouldn't hurt anyone here if Tamera has a pet."

"Okey Tamera." said Joseph, as he looks back down at his daughter and nods his head in agreement. "But you have to promise that you'll take good care of it."

"I promise, papa." said Tamera, as a large grin forms on her face.

"Then you may keep the kitten as your pet." said Joseph, smiling down at his daughter. "Consider it as a gift for learning how to use your powers much better."

"Thank-you papa." Tamera says, as she puts down the kitten and rushes over to Joseph and wrapping her arms around his waist. "You're the best papa, I could ever have."

"I'm your only papa, Tamera." said Joseph, smiling and rubbing the top of Tamera's head. "And your welcome."

"What are you going to name it, Tamera?" Hitomi asked, shaking off the stunned look. "You know, all pets have to have a name."

"I don't know aunt Hitomi." said Tamera, looking down at the kitten. Then she looks up at Joseph. "Is it a boy or a girl papa?"

"Let's see, shall we?" said Joseph, kneeling down in front of the kitten to study it for a couple of seconds. He then looks at Tamera with a smile on his face. "It seems that it's a little girl Tamera. Just like you."

"Then if it's a girl, I want to call it: Cera, papa." said Tamera, as she nods her head with a large smile on her face.

"Okey then, sweety." said Joseph, smiling at his daughter and patting the cat. After a couple of seconds, he stands up and looks down at Tamera. "Why don't you go feed it now."

"Okey papa." said Tamera, as she picks up the kitten and starts to walk towards the doorway. All of a sudden, she stops and turns around to look up at Joseph. "Umm, papa."

"Yes Tamera?" Joseph asked, turning to look at Tamera.

"What do kitties eat?" Tamera asked, looking from the kitten to her father and back again.

"Well, I know that they eat meat. So that means that you can go over to the kitchen and ask the head chief if you can have some cooked, and chopped meat for Cera." said Joseph, smiling down at Tamera.

"Okey papa, thank-you." said Tamera, as she turns and walks back into the castle.

"Oh Allen, Millerna." said Joseph, as he turns and looks over at Allen and Millerna.

"Yes, Joseph?" Millerna asked, as she and Allen turns to look at Joseph. "What is it?"

"We need to have a long chat about something." said Joseph, smiling at the two of them.

*************************

"Come in." said Tamera, looking up from patting her kitten and combing it's fur.

"Hey, sweety." said Joseph, opening the door to her bedroom and walking in with the twins in his arms. "I just came by to tell you that it's time for you and Cera to go to bed."

"Oh." said Tamera, as she watches her father walk over to the bed. She then looks down at Cera and looks up at Joseph. "Papa, can Cera sleep in my bed with me?"

"Sure she can, Tamera." said Joseph, as he puts the twins down onto Tamera's bed. "Besides, your brother and sister wanted to come and visit you before you went to sleep."

"Really?" Tamera asked, looking at the twins as they're sitting beside her. After a couple of seconds, Alex looks up at her with a rather large smile on her face. "Oh thank-you both."

"Gah." said Alex, as she looks at her sister while Zander reaches over and tries to pet Cera on the top of the head.

"Careful, Zander." said Joseph, as he sits down on the edge of the bed.

After a few minutes, Joseph stands up and lifts the twins up as Tamera scoots under the covers of her bed. She then takes Cera and puts her onto the pillow beside her head.

"Good-night, papa." said Tamera, looking at Joseph and the twins. "Good-night Alex and Zander."

"Good-night, Tamera." said Joseph, as he walks over to the door. He then opens it using his telekinesis and steps through the door. Once through, he looks back at Tamera as he shuts the door. "Have a good sleep, kiddo. I'll be seeing you in the morning."

"Okey papa." said Tamera, as she starts to fall asleep.

"C'mon you two." said Joseph, as he walks down the hall towards his and Merle's room, with the twins in his arms.  
"Let's get the two of you off to bed."

******************************

The End of:  
Part 13: Summon Thy Allies.

To Be Continued in:  
Part 14: 


	16. The New 'Melfs,

Attack of the New Zaibach: Part 14: The New 'Melf's By Rathorc Lemenger!!

(Authors note 1: Please don't sue me for any and all copyrighted characters. All other characters that are not in the original story line belong to me.)

(Three month's after part 13.)

*****************************

"Okey people." said Joseph, as he walks into the throne room, fuming. "We have some decisions to make. And we need to make them now."

"What's going on, Joseph?" Allen asked, as he turns from talking with Millerna. "Why are you so mad for?"

"I just got word that the Zaibach forces, that are inhabiting your seperate contries, are starting to gather on my borders for some sort of invasion." said Joseph, as he walks over to his throne and sits down in it.

"How do you know this, Joseph?" Merle asked, turning to her husband with a worried look on her face.

"My informants, Merle, told me about what's being planned." he said, glancing at his wife.

"Were they found out yet?" Dryden asked, looking at Joseph.

"Not to my knowledge, Dryden." said Joseph, as he rubs his face. "I can't believe this. Rupert?"

"Yes, your majesty?" Rupert asked, stepping forward. "How may I be of service?"

"Send for our best messenger, please." said Joseph, as rupert walks over to the door and calls for the messenger.  
"We're going to have to get our people out of there along with any people that they set free."

"What are we going to do next, Joseph?" Vicki asked, watching Rupert out of the corner of her eye.

"Hold on to that thought for a minute, Vicki." said Joseph, turning and looking towards Rupert, as he walks back to the group. "Rupert."

"Yes, your majesty?" Rupert asked, looking at Joseph while standing up straight.

"Are the prototype Gaimelfs ready yet?" Joseph asked, getting back out of his throne.

"Yes, your majesty." said Rupert, watching as Joseph walks towards the door and the messenger walks into the room.

"You." said Joseph, stopping and looking at the Messenger. "I want you to go and tell all of our forces to get ready for battle. But be extremely careful in not getting caught." He then turns and looks at the others. "If you all will follow me, please."

"Umm. Before we go anywhere," said Hitomi, as everyone stops and looks her way. "I have an announcement."

"What's a 'announcement', papa?" Tamera asks, looking up at her father.

"Shh, Tamera. It means that she's going to tell us something." said Joseph, looking down at Tamera and putting a finger to his lips. He then looks over at Hitomi. "Like you were saying, Hitomi?"

"I just wanted to tell everyone some good news. Van, of course, already knows." said Hitomi, glancing over at a beaming Van and manages to get up her courage with a rather large blush. "(Sigh) I'm pregnant."

"You're going to have a baby?" Joseph asks, after a couple of seconds of stunned silence and recieves a nod in agreement. "That's not good news." he said, getting stunned looks as everyone turns and notices his rather large,  
goofy grin. "That's not good news, because that's what everyone would consider 'great news', Hitomi. Congrats."

"Thankyou, Joseph." said Van, as Hitomi walks over to Van and puts an arm around his waist. "Now I know how you felt when Merle revealed that she was going to give birth to the twins."

"Well." said Joseph, looking at the group. "This is cause for celebration. I'll put the other plans on hold until tomarrow so we can make plans, in three days time we're going to have a feast for the two of you."

"Thankyou, Joseph." said Hitomi, looking at Joseph as her cheeks darken with a deeper blush.

********************************

Three Days Later

"Well," said Joseph, motioning to the gathered crowd in the ballroom while looking at Hitomi and Van. "what do the two of you think of the arrangements that I made?"

"I'm impressed, Joseph." said Van, as he looks over the crowd of well wishers that consists of all the noble houses.

"Thanks, Van." said Joseph, glancing over at Merle as she's talking to Maria and Vicki while holding onto the twins.  
He then excuses himself from Van and Hitomi, and walks over to where Merle is standing. When he gets there,  
Joseph takes Alex from his wife as Merle gives a surprised yelp. "Hey there Alex. How you doing, hmm?"

"Gah." Alex answers, as she let's out a little laugh when Joseph holds her against his chest.

"I thought so." Joseph agrees, as he leans over and gives her a small kiss on the forehead. He then looks at Merle with a raised eyebrow. "Hey Merle?"

"What is it Joseph?" Merle asked, as she, Maria and Vicki watch Joseph as Alexandria starts to giggle and tries to pull her father's beard.

"Did you see where Tamera is?" Joseph asked, looking around and avoiding Alex's small, grasping hands.

"Yeah, I did." said Vicki, stepping forward. Vicki then points over to the food and beverage table. "She's over at the food, she said that she's hungry. You don't have to worry, Allen and Millerna are with her." Vicki added, seeing Joseph's worried look.

"Hi papa." Tamera said, walking up behind her father with a small plate of fruit in her hands. "What's wrong?"

"There you are, Tamera." said Joseph, looking down at Tamera with a look of relief on his face. "I was worried that you were going to leave me in order to run away with some man and to live as his wife."

"Papa. Your so funny. You know that I wouldn't do that to you." said Tamera, giggling as she looks up at her father.  
She then see's her brother and sister looking at her food and smacking thier lips. "I wouldn't leave you. Can Alex and Zander have some fruit, papa?"

"I can't see why not, sweety." said Joseph, smiling at Tamera as he switches Alex to his other arm. "Just make sure that it's something soft for them."

"I have the right thing, papa." said Tamera, as she takes a small piece of pinapple and hands it to Alex, then walks over to where Merle is holding Zander and hands him a small piece of pinapple. "Here Zander."

"Gah." said Zander, as he takes the slice of fruit from his sister and puts it to his mouth to munch on. "Phlllpt."

"Are you sure that it's safe for the twins to eat that?" asked Merle, glancing at the twins.

"If I wasn't sure, Merle, I wouldn't have said yes." said Joseph, as he bounces Alex up and down a small bit as she sucks on the pinapple piece. "That must really taste good, Alex, for you to be so quiet."

"Hey Joseph." said Van, as he and Hitomi come walking over to where Joseph and Merle are standing. "Can we talk to you for a moment?"

"Sure Van." said Joseph, as he turns and faces Van and Hitomi, while Alex holds out her slice of pineapple to her older sister only to have Tamera smile and shake her head. "You know that you can talk to me about anything.  
We're all friends here." He adds, motioning with his free hand to Merle and the others. "So what is it?"

"Well." said Hitomi, looking at Van from the corner of her eye as she holds onto his arm. "We were wondering if you could be the uncle and god-father to our child. Mind you," Hitomi added, looking down at Tamera and then looking at Merle. "That means that you, Tamera, will have a cousin. It also means that, you, Merle, are going to be a aunt."

"I will gladly be a uncle to your child, Hitomi. If that's what you really want, of course." said Joseph, smiling at his two friends while blushing some. "It will be an honour."

"Thankyou, Joseph." said Van, nodding his head while smiling a small bit.

***********************

That Night

"This has been a officially wierd day." said Joseph, climbing into bed beside Merle and laying back.

"How so?" Merle asked, as she leans against Joseph and lays her head onto his shoulder. "Before I forget, are the kids put to bed?"

"Yeah, all three of the kids are in bed and asleep." said Joseph, putting an arm around his wifes shoulders. "And as to the first thing, it just seems wierd because everyone seemed happy. That's all."

"Ahh." said Merle, rubbing a hand on Joseph's chest. "Well, I wouldn't worry to much about it. It's probably because of the war going on, it has everyone stressed out. Even you. It was just relieved when you hosted the ball,  
today."

"Hmm, your right." said Joseph, as he leans over and kisses Merle on the lips for a full minute. He then pulls away,  
smacking his lips and looking at his wife. "You know, that has to be the best kiss I've had for weeks. But there's something else that I have not had for weeks."

"What's that, now?" Merle asked, looking up at Joseph out of the corner of her eye.

"This." said Joseph, diving under the covers towards Merle.

"Oh." Merle screeches, trying to get away from Joseph. "You beast. Don't you dare."

"Why shouldn't I?" came Joseph's muffled reply, as his covered mass moves towards Merle. He then pokes his head out from under the covers. "We're happily married, right?"

"Well, yes we are. But aren't you in the least bit tired?" Merle asked, crossing her arms and looking at her husband.

"Nah." said Joseph, going back to where he was beside Merle. "I'm just too excited by what Hitomi and Van asked us to be, to be calm."

"That makes two of us then." said Merle, smirking while looking at Joseph. She then wraps her arm around Joseph's and lays her head down on his shoulder with a happy sigh. "I'm so happy for them, Joseph. It's kind of obvious that they're really happy now."

"They really are going to have a tough time though." said Joseph, smiling down at his wife. "They may need our help and advice, you realize that, right?"

"Yes, I do, dear." said Merle, sighing happily. "But thier going to be happy as thier child gets older. I know that I'm happy for our children."

"Your always happy, Merle, about our kids." said Joseph, wrapping an arm around Merle's shoulders. "But then again, I'm proud, too."

***********************

the next day

"What did you need see us for, Joseph?" Allen asked, as he walks into the den with Millerna and the others,  
following him. "Is there something the matter?"

"Not exactly, Allen." said Joseph, turning from the window, with Malisk on his shoulder, to look at the gathered group. "But it is rather important though."

"Well." said Max, stepping forward to stand beside Allen. "What is it?"

"I've been thinking all morning," said Joseph, as he walks over to his desk and sits on a corner. "That maybe we should practice for the upcoming battle. But what I have for an idea for a good hard practice is for everyone,  
excluding Hitomi, Merle and the twins of course, to start to learn the various forms of weapon and hand-to-hand combat styles. I want you, Tamera, to work on using your sai's."

"Okey, papa." said Tamera, smiling and nodding in agreement. "I can do that for you."

"Good. Now if everyone will follow me, I've got something to show you all." said Joseph, pushing off from the desk.

Joseph then leads the group out to the largest of the courtyards, to find eleven large forms covered in long white tarps that touch the ground. He then motions for everyone to stand in front of the forms and face towards them. He then motions for the servents that are standing beside the forms to pull the tarps off to reveal brand new, and rather heavily built, giamelfs. All the Giamelfs appear to have various projections sticking out as part of the armour. The sharp edges appear to be dulled and softened with colors.

"Well?" Joseph asked, looking at his friends and family as they look at the giamelfs. "Did I do good designing, or did I do good designing?"

"Wow." said Tamera, as she looks at the giamelf that she's standing in front of. She then turns and looks at Joseph.  
"They look so big, papa."

"Tamera's right, Joseph." said Max, looking at Joseph from over his shoulder. "Are you sure that you didn't over do it a little, with the armor?"

"I'm about as sure about the armor as I am about there being freckles on Tamera's cheeks and nose, Max." said Joseph, shrugging his shoulders and smiling. "Besides, like I said before, Max. I intended to make some giamelfs so that my country can better defend itself."

"The only problem, that I can see, is that it seems to be too heavily armored." said Allen, as he turns to look at Joseph. "But with what's going on with Zaibach, that can be a good thing."

"A good thing, Allen?" Joseph asked, as he walks forward until he's beside Tamera. "That is not the only good thing about these beauties."

"What do you mean, dear?" Merle asks, as she steps forward to stand beside Joseph and Tamera while holding onto the twins.

"Allow me to show you all, one of the many interesting things that these beautiful machines can do." said Joseph,  
as he climbs up onto the giamelf that Tamera was standing in front of.

He then reaches into one of the joints to press the button to release the chest hatch. A second later, the hatch opens with a solid hiss of rushing air to reveal a large cockpit full of blinking buttons and lights. When he's sure that it's fully open, Joseph climbs into the 'melf unit and sits in the seat with a large grin on his face, he then reaches over and presses a yellow button and then grabs the two joysticks. A second later, the hatch starts to close with Joseph smiling inside. When the hatch is closed, the giamelf stands up to it's full 25 foot height, it then turns and starts to walk towards the end of the courtyard with rather long strides. But when he reaches the wall of the courtyard, Joseph turns the giamelf around and starts running towards the group with a lopping stride. When the giamelf reaches the mid-way point, it jumps up into the air and transforms into a somewhat unusual mechanised and heavily armored griffen, with Joseph sitting in between the shoulder wings and the shoulder-mounted thrusters with a small rim metal sorrounding the seat. After flying a couple of laps around the courtyard, to everyones amasement, Joseph lands the transformed unit onto the ground in front of the group and jumps off.

"Well?" Joseph asks, walking over to the group with a smile on his face. "What do all of you think of the 'griffen'  
gaimelf unit?"

"H-how did you do that?"asked Van, with a stunned look on his face. "How did you recreate the transformations?"

"Oh, it wasn't really all that hard, Van." said Joseph, stopping beside Merle as she looks him up and down. "All I did was use the transformation abilities of both the Epsilon Harold and the Escaflowne."

"Your a genius, Joseph. You realise that, right?" Max said, as he walks over and shakes Joseph's hand. "And I'm glad to be considered your friend."

"Thanks Max." said Joseph, raising an eyebrow. "I think. Now what does every one say to practicing using these beauties."

"Yay." cried Tamera, putting Cera down onto the ground and leaping up into the air out of pure joy. She then runs over to the griffen and tries to climb up onto it. "I wanna use this one, papa."

"Whoa." said Joseph, as he walks over to where Tamera is already up on the front leg, and lifts her off. "Hold on to that thought, sweety. I have a special one for you."

"Really papa?" Tamera asked, holding onto and looking up at Joseph. "You made me a special Giamelf?"

"Yes, Tamera." said Joseph, as he walks over to another giamelf, jet black in color with wing-like projections on it's shoulders and ankles, along with feather-shaped designs on it, carrying Tamera in his arms, and stops in front of it. "This is yours, sweety."

"This is really mine papa??" Tamera asked, looking up at Joseph to see him smile down at her and nod. "Oh thankyou papa. I love it."

"I thought as much, sweety." said Joseph, as he lifts Tamera up onto the giamelf and presses a botton on the inside of the theigh so that the chest plate opens and swings up. "Okey, Tamera. Climb on in and have a seat."

"Okey, papa." said Tamera, as she climbs up onto the seat inside her giamelf. "Like this?"

"That's exactly right, Tamera. Now here's what you have to do to get it moving. I want everyone else to listen as well." Joseph said, as he places the thinking cap onto Tamera's head while giving out the instructions. He then jumps down off the gaimelf and walks over to Merle and takes the twins from her. "C'mere you two. Let's talk baby bottles while you mother tries to get used to the gaimelf that belongs to her."

"Gah gah phliit." said both Alex and Zander at the same time, causing everyone to laugh out loud.

"You both have it in one." said Joseph, nodding as he shows Merle and the others where the button to open her gaimelf is at. "Now if the rest of you will climb into the new suits, I'll talk you through the steps of how they work."

"There's one problem, Joseph." said Millerna, walking up to Joseph.

"And what's that, Millerna?" said Joseph, looking over at Millerna with a raised eyebrow.

"I cannot get into mine because it's, well, you take a look." said Millerna, turning and looking at the gaimelf in transport mode.

"Oh yeah, I forgot." said Joseph, as he walks over to the gaimelf with Millerna. "There should be a small glowing square button up on the small rim. So if you'll climb on up millerna, you'll be able to see the button which I'm talking about and press it."

"Ahh, that makes sense." said millerna, as she climbs up onto the gaimelf. After a couple of seconds of looking,  
Millerna finds the button and presses it, which then causes the gaimelf to transforms back into it's humanoid form with Millerna on the inside of it.

"Is everyone comfortable in thier suits?" Joseph asked, stepping back and looking at all the Gaimelfs as they start to move thier arms. "As you all can see from inside your suits, there's more advanced things in there then any known gaimelfs. If you look around, you'll find a small red button by a screen, press it. There should be another red button in the shape of a square, press it and you'll be able to turn on the exterior speakers to talk to anyone on the outside of the suit."

"Hey, I can see you papa." said Tamera, from inside the suit after a couple of seconds as she moves the giamelf's arm up and down in a wave. "It's fun in here, papa."

"Yes." said Allen, as he makes the gaimelf step forward. "I have to admit, it's quite advanced in here."

"So I take it, that you all like them?" Joseph asks, and gets agreements from everyone in the group. "Besides,  
everyone's giamelf can now change forms from humanoid to transport mode. How's that sound for advanced?"

"Umm, papa?" Tamera asks, from inside her gaimelf.

"Yes, Tamera?" Joseph asks, turning and looking over at the black gaimelf. "What is it?"

"How do I get out of here, papa?" Tamera asked, as she raises her gaimelfs hand and puts it in behind her head and just rubs it.

"Well. That's an easy question to answer." said Joseph, smiling as he looks over the group. "There's two buttons in front of you, located under the video screens with a glass cover. Thier labeled as 'Eject' and 'Entrance'. I'm sure you all know which one to press."

"One things for certain." said Hitomi, from inside her gaimelf. "I'm not pressing the 'Eject' button."

"You," said Joseph, as the twins start to babble to each other. "Better not press the 'Eject' button. Unless you want to go up a couple hundred feet and land on your bottoms."

Just as Joseph says the word "bottom", Alex and Zander both burst into laughter as everyone starts to climb out of thier selected gaimelf's and walk over to where Joseph is standing laughing with the twins. When she reaches Joseph and the twins, Merle calmly takes the giggling Alex from Joseph and gives her a large smile.

"It's quite complicated in there, Joseph." said Merle, holding onto the squirming Alex. "Are you sure that we can handle them?"

"Merle. Honey. Dear." said Joseph, looking at Merle with a smile on his face and a cocked eyebrow. "Your married to me and you have to ask me that question? people could almost swear that you don't trust me."

"It's not that I don't trust you, Joseph." said Merle, looking up at her husband from under her long eyelashes. "It's just that those gaimelf's are so advanced and everything inside is a little confusing."

"Ahhh." said Joseph, nodding, he looks down at Zander and sticks out his tongue to get his son laughing again. "I think that I understand now." He then looks at the group and smiles at them. "It's really easy to understand, but the thing is that everyone will just have to get used to them just like you would have to get used to driving any other gaimelf. It's like ridding a bike, once you learn how to ride, you'll never forget."

"There's just one other thing." said Van, smiling out of the corner of his mouth as he drapes an arm aroud Hitomi's shoulders.

"And what's that, Uncle Van?" Tamera asks, looking up at Van as she picks the mewling Cera up in her arms.

"We have to practice using our weapons and fighting skills, Tamera." said Van, looking down at Tamera.

"I guess you're right, Uncle Van." said Tamera, looking down and patting Cera. A second later she looks up at Van again. "Uncle Van, can you and Uncle Allen teach me how to use the sword?"

"I don't know Tamera. It all depends on what your father and mother say." said Allen, looking down at Tamera. He then looks up at Joseph and Merle. "Well? Would it be okey if we could do that, Joseph?"

"I can't really see a problem with it, since I trust the two of you. What do you say Merle?" Joseph asked, looking down at his wife with a cocked eyebrow.

"Please mommy?" Tamera said, turning around and looking up at Merle. "Pretty please? I promise that I'll be careful."

"Huh. There's no changing your mind, is there Tamera?" Merle asks, looking down at Tamera and recieves a hard shake of her head. "Don't make me regret this, okey Tamera, you may learn how to use the sword. But first you have to do what your father said and practice using your sai's."

"Okey, mommy." Tamera said, smile as she puts Cera back down on the ground. All of a sudden, Tamera runs over and wraps her arms around Merle's and Joseph's waist. "Thankyou mommy. Thankyou papa. Your the best."

"That's what they all say." said Joseph, reaching down and scuff's Tamera's hair. "Your welcome, sweety."

****************************

"So, Rupert." said Joseph, looking down into the courtyard as he watches Allen and Van teach Tamera on how to use the sword by using some dulled swords. "What has our spies told us about what we can expect from the Zaibach morons?"

"Well, your majesty. There is something that you might want to know." said Rupert, watching Joseph as he turns to look at him and the mesenger from the spies.

"And what might that be, Rupert?" Joseph asked, cocking an eyebrow at his general.

"Well, your majesty," said Rupert, taking the letter from the messenger and places it on the desk. "maybe you should read it. I've already read it and found it extremely unusual."

"That's understandable." said Joseph, as he walks over to the desk and picks up the letter. After a minute of reading and rereading, Joseph puts the letter down. He then looks at the messenger with a raised eyebrow, thinking that the messenger couldn't be any older then about fifteen years old. "What's you name, son?"

"Cerston, your majesty." said the mesenger, giving Joseph a bow.

"Okey, Cerston, I'm going to ask you a very important question and I need the honest truth." said Joseph, as he sits down in his chair behind the desk. "You think that you can do that?"

"Yes, your majesty. I shall try my best." said Cerston, as he watches Joseph.

"Before I ask, why don't you have a seat and make yourself comfertable." said Joseph, indicating the chair in front of the desk.

"Thankyou sir." said Cerston, as he sits down in the chair with a slight bow.

"Now onto the question." said Joseph, leaning forward in his chair. "Have you seen these new Zaibach gaimelfs with your own eyes?"

"Yes. I have, your majesty." said Cerston, nodding his head slightly.

"Do you think that you could describe them, Cerston?" asked Joseph, leaning back into his chair and putting his hands on the arm rests. "For me in the best detail possible, of course."

"Of course, your majesty. I'll try to do my best." said Cerston, licking his lips and letting out a sigh. "Well, the gaimelfs are larger then what they were before. Thier also bulkier and from what I've personally seen, thier arms are covered in long, thin blades. Right where the wrists are, there's a ball-like item with three long rope-like projections,  
very much like claws, with a hole in the middle of them."

"Okey. Thankyou for your cooperation, Cerston." said Joseph, as he stands up and reaches his hand into his pocket. A second later, Joseph pulls his hand out holding a thin sheet of folded up paper with a small wax button.  
"Here Cerston. Take this down stairs to Jacob and give this to him, please. Then I want you to wait there, and Jacob will give you your payment."

"Thankyou, your majesty." said Cerston, as he stands and reaches over and takes the paper from Joseph. He then reaches over with his other hand and takes Joseph's hand, and shakes it. "Thankyou, very much."

"Your welcome, Cerston." said Joseph, smiling as he removes his hand from Cerston's. "And Cerston?"

"Yes, your majesty?" Cerston asks, looking up at Joseph.

"Why don't you take a couple of days off." said Joseph, smiling as he walks over to the window and looks out at Tamera and the others.

"Thankyou, your majesty." Cerston said, as he bows to Joseph. After a couple of seconds, Cerston stands straight up and walks out the door.

"Is there anything else, Rupert?" Joseph asks, without looking at his general. After a couple of seconds of silence,  
he turns and looks at Rupert, who's looking a little worried. "Well? I take it that the silence that I hear means that there's nothing else?"

"Well, sir." said Rupert, looking at the floor. He then digs into his pants pocket and pulls out a second letter. "There is another thing. Here."

(Allen. Get your furry behind in here NOW.) Joseph yelled, a few minutes later, with his telepathy as he looks out the window at the group. (In fact, I want everyone in here. PRONTO)

After a few minutes, Merle and the others come rushing in to find Joseph sitting at his desk, with his head in his hands and a folded piece of plain paper in front of him. After two or three seconds, he looks up at the group with a worried look in his eyes.

"Allen. Please have a seat." said Joseph, with a barely restained voice. "I have something to tell you and I know that you will not like it one bit."

"What is it, Joseph?" Allen asks, as he sits on the other side of the desk. "What do you mean that I'm not going to like it?"

"It's about your sister, Serena." said Joseph, letting out a sigh as he leans back and rubs his face.

"What about her?" Allen asked, turning a unhealthy shade of white. "What happened to her?"

"Before I tell you Allen," said Joseph, leaning forward again. "I just want you to know that it is partially my fault.  
So I can understand that you may hate me, so here goes nothing. Well, when I had found out that Zaibach had taken over your seperate countries, I had decided that I maybe able to help you more then what I was planning on.  
So what I did was that I tried to find your sister and to try and get her out of the country so you could be together,  
but that's not what happened. The plan had failed."

"What happened, Joseph?" Allen yelled in anger, standing up and slamming his hands down so hard onto the desk that it makes everyone in the room jump, except for Joseph, and causes the twins to burst into tears.

"Well, like I said. My plan failed, which has caused Serena to get captured. I'm sorry, Allen. I truly am." said Joseph,  
as a single tear runs down his cheek. "But I only just got the letter, telling me that it failed. But in order to fix what I've done, I decided that I'll go and rescue her for you."

*  
*One Week Later.*

"Mommy." Tamera calls, as she races into the room where Merle and the others are having a meeting. "Everybody."

"What is it, Tamera?" Elaina asks, turning to look at her grand-daughter. "Is something the matter??"

"Papa's landing the Epsilon Harold in the main courtyard, grandma." Tamera answered, as she slids to a stop beside her grandmother. "And it really looks bad."

"He's back?" Merle asks, standing up with Alex in her arms. She then runs out of the room and is followed by the others.

"Wait for me." Tamera cries, as she runs after the group as fast as she can.

After a few minutes, the group makes it into the courtyard just as Joseph shuts off a severly damaged Epsilon Harold.

Two seconds later, the cockpit opens and Joseph steps out, he then leans back in for what seems like an eternity. After a minute, he moves down the ladder a little bit just as a blond head with short cut hair bobs above the rim of the cockpit. A second later, the head is followed by a female body wearing a torn and ragged dress as the woman climbs out onto the ladder with Joseph's help. When Joseph and the woman step down onto the ground,  
Merle runs over and is followed by the others with Allen rushing past all of them.

"Joseph." Merle cries, as she stops beside Joseph. When Joseph turns to face Merle, she lets out a small gasp when she see's that his face is as white as a sheet with a couple of bruises and cuts. He also has sweat beading his forehead with glased over eyes. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Merle." said Joseph, with a raw voice. "I just need to rest, that's all."

Just as he finishes saying that, Joseph stumbles and falls to his knees, all the while panting heavily. Two seconds later, Max and Van are on either side of Joseph so they can help him up and into the castle as they're followed by the rest of the group. As they walk along, Merle grabs one of the passing female servants and tells her to prepare something for Joseph to eat and to get his bed ready.

"I said I'm fine, you guys." said Joseph, as he tries to move away from Van and Max but his knees give out from under him. "I can walk on my own."

"Like hell that you can, Joseph." said Merle, looking at her husband with worry filled eyes. "You going to get something to eat, then your going to go lay down for a couple of hours after the castle doctor checks you over."

"Fine." said Joseph, as they reach the dining room. "I'm really in no mood to argue right now, Merle."

"Mommy is right, papa." Tamera said, looking up at her father as she walks beside him, carrying a worried look.  
"Because you don't look so good."

"Thanks, Tamera." said Joseph, as he smiles weakly down at his daughter. "But to tell you the truth, sweety, I'm going to be all right."

End Of: Part 14: The New 'Melf's.

To Be Continued in: Part 15: The Coming Warning.  
By Rathorc Lemenger. 


	17. The Coming Warning

Attack Of The New Zaibach: Part 15: The Coming Warning.  
By Rathorc Lemenger.

(Authors note 1: Please don't sue me for any and all copyrighted characters. All other characters that are not in the original story line belong to me.)

"Hmm?" Joseph asked, coming fully awake and opening his eyes to look at Merle as she leans forward to dab a wet cloth onto his forehead. "What did you just say, Merle?"

"I just asked you how your feeling, dear?" Merle asked, smiling down at her husband.

"I'm fine, Merle." Joseph said, sitting up to look around. After a couple of seconds, Joseph looks at his wife with a confused look to his face. "What am I doing back here, Merle? The last thing that I remember is escaping from those Zaibach bastards this morning."

"You've been uncouncious for three days, Joseph." said Merle, with wide, blue-eyed wonder. All of a sudden, she gets a worried look to her. "Are you sure that you don't remember anything, dear?"

"I'm about as sure about that as I'm sure that your here with me, Merle." said Joseph, as he looks at his wife with a cocked eyebrow. "Are you alright?"

"I'll be fine, Joseph. But I'm more worried about you." said Merle, putting the clothe into the bowl next to her.

"So are you going to explain to me," said Joseph, throwing back the covers and climbing out of the bed. "about what happened?"

"Be careful, Joseph." cried Merle, jumping out of the chair and sends the bowl of water flying, spilling the water all over the place. She then grabs Joseph's arm in order to get him back into bed. "I want you to get back into bed now, Joseph." She added, sternly.

"But." said Joseph, surprised by Merle's reaction as he let's her push him back into the bed. "I have work to do."

"No buts about it Joseph. Besides, everything is being taken care of, if that's what your worried about." said Merle,  
as she looks at her husband. "I want you to relax in bed so I can explain everything to you. But before I do, I'll order some stew brought up and get this mess cleaned up."

When the stew arrives, Merle sits down beside Joseph while he eats so she can explain to him about what happened during the three days that he was unconcious.

"And as far as I know, Allen, Millerna, Dryden and Serena have been spending alot of time together in the flower gardens." Merle finished, as Joseph polishes off the last of the stew.

"Sounds like I missed out on alot of the action." said Joseph, as he puts the empty bowl onto the nightstand beside the bed.

Just as Joseph finishes talking, the door opens to reveal Tamera with Calvin and Elaina carrying the twins in thier arms.

"There's my three favorite children." said Joseph, at his parents and kids. "C'mere."

"Papa?" Tamera said, lifting her head to look at Joseph and blinking. A second later, as tears start to form in her eyes Tamera leaps at her father and wraps her arms around his chest as she presses her face against his shoulder with tears streaming down down her cheeks. "Oh papa, I was so scared for you."

"Oh Tamera." said Joseph, looking down at his daughter with tears starting to well up in his eyes as he reaches down and starts to stroke her long black hair. "I'm sorry that I scared you. I really am."

"Gah gah phliit." said Alex, as both her and her brother reach out to thier father as if asking to be held. "Gah."

"You just can't wait to hug your father, can you?" asked Elaina, as she and Calvin passes the twins to Joseph as Tamera moves out of the way and quickly climbs off the bed so she doesn't accidently get hit from one of the twins as they swish thier tails back and forth happily.

"Hey Alex, hey Zander." said Joseph, taking the twins into his arms. When he has both of them in his arms, Joseph gives both of them a kiss on the top of thier heads. "How are my two youngest doing today, hmm?"

"Phhlt." Zander stated, smiling, before leaning in and giving Joseph a rather large, wet kiss on the cheek.

"I'll take that as: your having a good day today." said Joseph, laughing as Alex joins her brother in kissing her father on the cheek. "I'm glad to see you too."

***********************

*A day later*

As Joseph sits at the desk in his office working on some paper work, a rather large knock interupts his concentration.

"Come in." Joseph called, looking up from the paper that he was reading. A couple of seconds later, the door opens as Allen walks in and is followed by a rather shy Serena. "Oh, hey Allen. How's everything going?"

"Everything is going fine, Joseph." said Allen, as he walks over to the desk. "Can I talk to you for a minute,  
Joseph?"

"I don't know, Allen, can you?" said Joseph, smiling as he puts the pen that he had in his hand down on the desk as Allen just shakes his head in amusement. "Sure Allen. What's up?" Joseph asks, as he motions for the two of them to have a seat.

"Well." said Allen, pulling out a chair for Serena to sit in. Once Serena is seated, he walks over to the second chair and sits in it. "I just wanted to say that it's good to see you up and about, Joseph."

"Thanks Allen." said Joseph, smiling as he leans back in the chair and folds his hands across his chest.

"But to get to the point," said Allen, leaning forward in his chair. "I came here to thankyou for rescuing my sister.  
I'm also truly sorry for getting angry with you, before you left."

"Hey Allen." said Joseph, leaning forward and placing his folded hands onto the desk. "It's okey. In fact, it's quite understandable that you got mad. But you do realise that I'm going to have to punish you for your actions, right?"

"Of course." said Allen, as he gets a blank look on his face. "What is my punishment?"

"You can't do that." Serena stated, getting out of her chair with a confused look on her face. "You just said that it was understandable that Allen got mad at you."

"Please Serena." said Allen, looking up at his sister. "Let the king talk."

"Well." said Joseph, getting up out of his chair and walking over to the window so that Allen and Serena wouldn't see the smile that takes over his face. As he's standing there, he watches thier reflections in the window. "Let me think. Ah yes, I now know the perfect punishment for you, Allen."

"What is it?" Allen asked, sounding defeated.

"Well, it's the worst punishment that I can think of, considering." said Joseph, forcing the smile to leave as he turns to look at Allen, who is hanging his head. "Your punishment is this: you are to go and take your sister out into the city with Millerna and shop for some new dresses for both of the women. Do I make myself perfectly clear on your punishment, Allen?"

"Yes." said Allen, as he shows a hint of a smile as both he and Serena stand. He then bows, allowing the smile to show without Serena to see it. "Thankyou for such a fitting punishment, your majesty."

"I know that I'm psycic and I'm not supposed to probe into anyones minds, but, your sister thinks that I'm weird for giving such a unusual punishment." said Joseph, glancing over at Serena to see the shocked look on her face as she is about to say something. He then looks back at Allen with a smile on his face. "Maybe you could talk to her while your out shopping, Allen."

"Sure thing, Joseph." said Allen, as he guides Serena out of the room while carrying a smile on his face. "Come along dear sister. Time to get started on the punishment."

"But.... I don't understand." said Serena, as Allen closes the door to the office and Joseph's sits back down in his seat.

A couple of seconds after Allen leaves with Serena in tow, the door opens again, but this time it's to reveal an excited Merle, wearing a red and white dress, carrying the twins in her arms. As she steps into the room, Tamera,  
wearing a sky blue dress with red trimmings, walks in behind her mother.

"Joseph, you won't believe what just happened." said Merle, walking over to the desk with a twinkle in her eyes.

"What?" Joseph asked, standing up and looking at Merle with a worried look on his face. "What is it? are the kids alright??"

"They're fine, dear." said Merle, with a listfull laugh and stopping in front of the desk. "But it is something that you might want to see."

"Which is what exactly?" Joseph asked, walking to the other side of the desk and standing in front of Merle.

"Here, hold onto Alex for a second, please." said Merle, passing Alex to Joseph. She then bends over with Zander so that his feet are touching the floor.

As Joseph watches, Merle lets go of Zander to reveal that he's able to stand by himself without aid and moves her hands to either side of him. After a couple of seconds of teetering, Zander looks up at Joseph with a large smile on his face, and takes a two steps forward and bursts out into joyous laughter, which then causes Alex to burst into laughter. All Joseph can do is just stand there looking at his son in stunned amasement.

"Wha......?" said Joseph, looking down at Zander as Zander falls back into Merle's waiting arms. He then looks at Merle as a smile starts to spread across his face. "Did I just see what I thought I saw?"

"Yes papa." said Tamera, as she smiles up at her father. "Zander can walk by himself."

"C'mere, shortstuff." said Joseph, as he walks over with Alex in his arms and takes Zander from Merle as both of the twins are laughing like hyena's. He then gives both of his kids a kiss on the tops of thier heads. "I'm so proud of you, son." He then looks at Merle with a raised eyebrow. "Do my parents know about this?"

"I haven't told them yet, Joseph." said Merle, smiling as she watches her husband and kids. "I figured that we could both tell them."

"Then we better tell them the great news about thier grandchildren." said Joseph, as he carries both of the twins in his arms and walkout of the room with Merle and Tamera following behind them.

******************************

"What your telling me, is that Zander is starting to walk by himself?" Elaina asked, looking from Joseph to Merle and back again as Tamera is sitting down on the floor and playing with the twins, laughing.

"Yes, mom." said Joseph, smiling as he watches his three kids playing and laughing together. Joseph then looks at Elaina with a smile on his face. "They are seventeen months old, after all."

"Well I never expected it at all." said Calvin, as he looks, with a smile, at his son. After a couple of seconds, he walks over to where the twins are and picks up his grandson and recieves a large bout of laughter. "Your are one large daredevil, aren't you, Zander?"

All of a sudden, Joseph hears something from where Alex and Tamera are still playing. He then looks over to see that both girls stopped and Tamera is looking at Alex as she smiles up at her big sister.

"What was that, Tamera?" Joseph asks, as he cocks an eyebrow and looks at his youngest daughter, then to his eldest. "Did you say something Tamera?"

"No papa." said Tamera, looking up at her father and then looking at Alex. "But I think that Alex did."

"Da-da." said Alex, turning and looking up to see stunned looks from Joseph, Merle, Elaina, Calvin and Tamera,  
which then causes her to burst out into laughter. "Dada dada dada."

"Oh my god." said Merle in a gasp, as she covers her mouth with her hand. She then looks at Joseph. "Did you hear that Joseph?"

"I sure did." said Joseph, smiling as he walks over to Alex and picks her up. He then spins her around in the air as the both of them start to laugh. "My baby girl is talking. My baby girl just said 'dada'."

"Dada dada dada." said Alex, in between laughs while being swung around by her father.

After a couple of seconds, the door opens as Millerna, Allen, Hitomi, Max, Tabitha, Van, Dryden, Serena, Vicki,  
Rupert and Maria come walking into the room.

"Umm, Joseph?" said Millerna, as she and the others stop near Joseph.

"Yes, Millerna?" Joseph asked, stopping and looks to see Millerna blushing. "What is it? Is something wrong?"

"Well, umm." said Millerna, glancing at Allen, then looks back at Joseph as the blush gets deeper. "I was wondering if it's possible that you will allow me and Allen to get married here in your country. And we want you to do the ceremony."

"What?" Joseph asked, looking from Allen, to Millerna, and back again with a stunned look on his face. "You want to get married?? Jeez, today is chalk full of surprises. Sure, you can get married here. Yes, I'll also do the ceremony for the two of you."

"What do you mean that today 'is chalk full of surprises?'" Allen asked, raising a curious eyebrow.

"Well." said Joseph, holding onto Alex as Merle, Calvin and Elaina walk over to congratulate Millerna. "First Zander takes his first steps, then Alex says her first word, and now the two of you want to get married."

"Zander started to walk?" Hitomi asked, covering her mouth.

"Alex said her first word?" Millerna asked, in a gasp.

"Dada." said Alex, leaning forward in her fathers arms and laughing. "Dada dada dada."

"See?" Joseph asked, looking down at his daughter with eyes full of love as he hears gasps from the others.

"That means that I'm the luckest big sister ever." said Tamera, standing up and grinning. She then walks over to where Joseph is holding onto Alex and tugs on his sleeve. "Papa, can I hold Alex please?"

"You sure can sweety." said Joseph, looking down at his eldest with a smile on his face. "I guess that this is probably the best birthday present that anyone your age can get. Happy birthday Tamera." As he passes Alex to Tamera, Joseph gives Tamera a kiss on the cheek.

"Thankyou, papa." said Tamera, smiling and taking her baby sister from her father and places her onto the floor so that the two of them can play with Cera.

"Oh." said Merle, looking around at the others, then looking down at Tamera. "I almost forgot." She then passes Zander to Joseph and walks over to where her two daughters are playing. She then kneels down beside Tamera and taps her on the shoulder, causing her to look up at her mother. "Happy birthday, Tamera. What would you like as your present?"

"Thankyou, mother." said Tamera, smiling up at her mother with a small twinkle in her eyes. "But I have everything that I need right here."

"Really?" Elaina asked, smiling down at her grand-daughter. "And what would that be now, Tamera?"

"Well. If you really want to know grandma." said Tamera, as Alex crawls over to her and then climbs into her lap to sit down in it. "What I mean when I say that I have everything that I need right here, is that I have the best papa,  
the best mother, the best brother and sister, the best aunts and uncles, and the best grandma and grandpa that anyone can possibly have."

"That's such a sweet thing to say, Tamera." said Merle, reaching over and hugging her daughter. After a couple of seconds, Merle gives Tamera a kiss on the top of the head. "Thankyou."

"Well, it's the truth, Mother." said Tamera, smiling up at her. "You and papa always told me to tell the truth, even if nobody wants to hear it."

"Amen." said Dryden, chuckling at he slings his arms across Allen's and Van's shoulders only to get dirty looks from the two of them. "Now, that's what type of truth I like to hear."

"Your just a big suck-up, Tamera. You know that?" Joseph asks, as he smiles down at his two daughters while Zander tries to pull out his beard in order to get his attention. A second later, Joseph looks down at his son with a raised eyebrow. "Yes Zander? What is it??"

"Gah." said Zander, looking up at his father then looks down at where his big sister and twin sister are playing. He then looks back up at Joseph while pointing at his sisters. "Gah."

"Ohhh, you want to play with your sisters, do you Zander?" said Joseph, as he puts his son down onto the floor.  
"Here you go, bud."

"Gah. Phlllt." said Zander, as he crawls over to his sister and sits down beside Tamera and starts to play with some of the blocks.

*******************************

*The next day.*

After a few hours of signing the needed papers to run his country, Joseph looks up just as someone knocks on the door to his office.

"The doors wide open." said Joseph, leaning back in his chair and rubbing his eyes. After a couple of seconds,  
Joseph stops and looks towards the doorway to see Maria walking in carrying a tray with stew and bread. He then gets up from where he's sitting and rushes over to her and takes the tray from her before she stumbles and drops it,  
and places it is an area on his desk that's clear of paper. "Oh thanks, Maria. You must be a mind reader."

"Not really, lord Joseph." said Maria, smiling as she walks over to one of the chairs that is in front of the desk and sits down in one. "But I believe that your wife is. Because it was her that sent me to deliver it to you."

"Ah. So that explains it, now." said Joseph, clearing off some of the desk so that he can eat his food. He then takes the bowl and sits down in the chair with it as he starts to eat. "This stew is pretty good. Who made it?"

"I did, your majesty." said Maria, as she blushes a little. "I'm happy that you like it."

"It's better then if I made it, Maria. Thankyou." said Joseph, as he smiles at her.

"Oh by the way, lord Joseph." said Maria, as she stands up and digs through one of her pockets on the front of her dress. Her hand then comes back out holding a slip of paper with Rupert's waxed crest on it. "Rupert told me to give this to you. Here."

"Thanks Maria." said Joseph, as he motions with his spoon for her to put it on the desk. "Lay it down on the desk and I'll look at it once I'm done eating."

"As you wish, Lord Joseph." said Maria, as she lays the paper down onto the desk. A second later, Maria bows and then excuses herself as she states that she has some work to get done.

Just as she leaves, Merle comes walking into the room with the twins in her arms. Upon seeing her enter, Joseph gets up and walks over to meet his wife and kids in the middle of the room.

"Hey, Merle. What do I owe this wonderful visit to?" Joseph asked, as he takes Alex up into his arms and smiles as he gives Merle a small kiss on the lips. "Or is that you just don't trust me all that much with all these beautiful women around?"

"Hmm." said Merle, smiling at her husband with as she switches Zander to her other arm. "Something like that. I just came to see how your doing, that's all. But as to the point of trusting you, I know that you'd never let me down."

"I know that." said Joseph as he lifts Alex up into the air and gives her a small toss to get her to laugh. "And how are my two wonderful little children today, hmmm?"

"Gah... Phllit." said Zander, as Alex bursts into laughter. "Gah."

"Well." said Merle, as she smiles at her kids and her husband, as Joseph reaches over to take Zander from her.  
"Alex took her first steps towards Tamera this morning while Zander is really starting to become a real daredevil."

"How so?" said Joseph, looking up from the babbling twins to look at Merle. "Did he do something odd?"

"Well no. It's just that he's been zipping all over the place, all morning." said Merle, smiling as both her and Joseph walk over to the desk. They then both sit down on either side of the desk while Joseph has both of the twins on his lap. All of a sudden, Alex reaches over to Joseph's bowl and takes the spoon full of hot stew. She then brings the spoon up to her mouth and puts it in so she can eat what's on it. Seeing this, Merle just smiles as Alex makes one of her patented faces. "Makes you wonder if he's not the wind."

"Hahaha. I guess that your right at that, Merle." said Joseph, as he takes the spoon from Alex's mouth. He then puts the spoon into the bowl and starts to stir the stew around. "Careful Alex. It's still a little hot, sweety."

"Dada." said Alex, as she and Zander look up at thier father with confused looks on thier faces.

"I know Alex." said Joseph, as he looks down at his two children as he finishes cooling the stew. "It should be cool enough for you to eat now." Just as he finishes saying that, he reaches over and grabs the bread. He then brakes off two small pieces from the bread and dips it into the stew, then hands one piece to Alex and one piece to Zander.  
"Here you go, have fun eating."

"Gah." said Zander, as he puts the stew-soaked bread into his mouth to munch on.

"Now where was I?" Joseph asked, looking at Merle with a small smile and a cocked eyebrow. "Aaah, yes. Now I remember. I am happy......"

"Your lordship." said Rupert, as he runs into the office in a hurry. He then stops beside Merle, who he bows to, and looks at Joseph. "We have a problem. You might want to come and see it, sir."

"Okey." said Joseph, as he stands up and walks to the other side of the desk. He then passes the twins to Merle,  
then gives her and the twins each a kiss on the head. "I'll be right back in a bit, beautiful. The things I do for my country."

"Be careful, Joseph." said Merle, as Joseph follows Rupert out of the office. "I mean it, Joseph."

All Joseph can do is wave at her as he walks through the door and out into the halls. After a few minutes of walking, Joseph and Rupert come out into one of the larger courtyards to find five strangely familar gaimelf's kneeling on the ground. As Joseph looks, five people, two human women (one with long jet black hair who appears to be the eldest and one with long brown hair), one cat woman (with red hair), one human man (black hair) and one cat man (with brown hair), step around and into the sunlight from behind the giamelfs so that Joseph can see them.  
After a couple of seconds, Joseph quickly scans thier minds.

"Rupert..." said Joseph, as he looks at Rupert with a glance. "Can you please leave us alone?"

"Yes, your majesty." said Rupert, giving Joseph a bow while glancing at the group of people. "As you wish."

"Thankyou, Rupert." said Joseph, as he turns back towards to look at the group, as Rupert disappears through the doorway. After a couple of seconds, Joseph steps toward the group with a stern look on his face so as not to let them know that he knows them. "What can I help you with?"

"We have come to warn you fa... I mean sir." Corrected the eldest woman, catching the slip of the tongue.

"Oh did you now." said Joseph, turning around and pretending to look up at the castle, when in truth, he's watching the five people, with a large smile on his lips, out of the corner of his eye. "Would you care to tell me why you have come to warn me, Tamera?"

"We have come..." said Tamera, stopping to stare agast at Joseph. A couple of seconds later, she shuts her mouth and swollows past the lump in her throat as tears start to form in her eyes. "How do you know my name?"

"Tamera. Tamera. Tamera." said Joseph, shaking his head while turning to look at the group. "You, your brother,  
and your sister there, all know that I'd recognize you from three miles away. Besides," said Joseph, shrugging and smiling at the children. "I'm psychic and plus you almost said 'father'."

"He's right, Tamera." said the older Alex, as she steps forward with tears forming in her eyes. "Besides, we could never hide anything from him."

"Now." said Joseph, smiling and looking at his three children with open arms. "Do I get a hug, or do I keep wishing for one?"

"Oh papa." said Alex, as she runs into Joseph's open arms and starts to cry as Zander and Tamera walk over and wrap thier arms around him. "I missed you, so."

"I know, Alex." said Joseph, as he hold's onto his three kids. "I'm sorry that I had to die when you were so very young."

"It wasn't your fault, father." said Zander, stepping back from hugging his father. "We all know that it was an accident that you died when the Epsilon Harorld exploded."

"What's going on out here, Joseph?" Merle asked, as she walks out into the courtyard carrying the twins in her arms. Upon seeing the group, she stops and looks at her husband. "Who are these people?"

"Look closely at them Merle." said Joseph, smiling and stepping away from the older Alex and Tamera. "Then look at the bundles of Joy in your arms."

"What are you...." said Merle, as she glances from the adult twins to the baby twins, relizing who the two adult cat twins are. "Who my god. Zander? Alex?"

"Hello mother." said Zander, moving away from Joseph and giving Merle a small bow. "How are you?"

"Z-Zander. Oh my god." said Merle walking over to where Joseph is holding Alex and Tamera. After a couple of seconds, Merle stops to look at Zander, then at Alex. "How is this possible?"

"Well, Merle." said Joseph, after clearing his throat to catch Merle's attention. "I believe that these are the adult versions of our children. From the future. How it's possible that they're here? It's beyond my knowledge."

"It always will be, father." said Alex, smiling up at her father. "But you don't have to worry about it, though."

"Well, Alex. You know me, I'd never ask questions about such things." said Joseph, smiling while holding onto Alex and passing Zander over to Merle, who are babbling about something or other. "But for right now, maybe we should all go inside and talk about the future and you can tell me what happened. Okey?"

"Sounds good to me." said Merle, as she tries to keep baby Zander from grabbing at his older version.

"There's just one small thing that we have to take care of first." said the older-Tamera, before blowing a shrill, high pitched whistle through her teeth. A couple of seconds later, she turns to look at her father, as the bushes around them start to rattle. "There's four people that we'd like the two of you to meet. Okey kids, you can come out now."

"Okey, mama." said a brown-haired, five-year-old human girl, as she steps out from behind a large rose bush while holding hands with two four-year-old cat-children and one human three-year-old blond haired boy. After a couple of seconds, the two human children stop beside Tamera while one of the cat children walk over to stand beside Alex and the other beside Zander. Then the little human girl looks up at Tamera while pointing at Joseph and Merle.  
"Who're those funny looking people, mama?"

"That, Sera, is your grand-father and grand-mother." said Tamera, smiling down at her daughter, as she glances at the tearing Joseph and Merle. She then motions for Sera to go forward. "Why don't you, your brother, and your cousin's go and introduce yourself's to them?"

"Do I have to, mama?" asked the little boy, looking up at his mother. "I don't know them, and you always said not to talk to people that you don't know."

"It's okey, Joseph." said Alex, as she looks down at her nephew. "Thier your grandpa and grandma, so you don't have anything to worry about."

"Okey, antie Alex." said the little boy, who Alex just called Joseph, as he looks at Alex.

A second later, him and the other three kids walk toward Joseph and Merle. They then stop in front of Joseph and Merle, who's sobbing with tears of joy, the little girl, who Tamera called Sera then steps forward with a smile on her face.

"Hello grandma. Hello grandpa, I'm Sera Belingla and this," she motions to the three year old boy. "is my baby brother, Joseph Belingla. While these two," she motions to the two cat-children. "are my cousins, Justin Edwin and Merle Fanel."

"Oh my god, Joseph." said Merle, looking at Joseph with tears of happiness running down her cheeks. "Our children had children. Here, hold Zander." She said, handing Zander back to Joseph. She then kneels down in front of the children while wipping away the tears in her eyes. "Hello, children. I'm your grand-mother, Merle. I'm so happy to meet all of you."

"Hey, Mewle." said Joseph, smiling while looking at his cousin and walking towards Merle. "She's got the same name as you." He then stops in front of Merle and looks at her for a couple of seconds. He then walks the rest of the way to her and wraps his arms around her while resting his head on her shoulder while Merle wraps her arms around him. "Hello gwandma."

"You do know, Tamera, that once your mother gets her hands on these kids, that she's not going to let them go for awhile." said Joseph, smiling at his eldest daughter. He then motions to the kids with his head, as they all start to hug and kiss Merle. "And why did you name your son Joseph for?"

"Well, that's what I intended father." said Tamera, as she walks over to stand beside her father. "I named him after my hero and the one man who was ever truly kind to me, other then my husband."

"I take it that you mean me, right?" Joseph asked, as Merle is there talking to her newfound grandkids.

"Of course, father." said Tamera, as she smiles up at her father while baby Alex and Zander are trying to grab her.

"Well, why don't we all go inside and have a cup of tea in order to talk. I'm sure that Van, Allen, Millerna and Hitomi would like to meet thier future kids." said Joseph, as he walks over to where Merle and the kids are talking. He then looks down at the children. "I'm also sure that you four would like to meet your great-grandparents, right?"

"Okey gwandpa." said Joseph, smiling up at his grandfather with such passion and interest that it makes Joseph's heart melt.

"Hey Tamera." said Joseph, as he's walking into the castle with his grandkids walking on either side of him.

"Yes father?" said Tamera, walking up beside her father. "What is it?"

"Would you like a cup of my special mint tea?" Joseph asked, smiling at his daughter while carrying the twins in his arms.

"It sounds delightful." said Tamera, smiling at her father. "I haven't had any of your mint tea in years."

"Who's that, papa?" asked the younger Tamera, as she comes walking over to her father and looks up at him with wide eyed wonder. All of a sudden she looks at the kids, crowding around her father. As she looks at the kids, she let's out a small gasp and points at Sera. "Who are you and why do you look like me for?"

"I'm Sera. Who're you?" asked Sera, stopping and looking at the younger Tamera with interest. "Why do you look just like me and my mommy for?"

"Umm, Sera? That is your mother." Joseph said, smiling down at the two girls as they look up at Joseph with stunned looks on thier faces. "Or at least the younger version of her."

"What?" both girls said as one, while thier jaws drop in astonishment.

"He's right." said the older version of Tamera, as she walks forward with a smile on her face. She steps up to the younger Tamera and smiles down at her. "Hello Tamera. I'm the older version of yourself."

"Wow, papa." said young Tamera, looking up at herself in amasement. "I'm a big woman."

"Well." said Joseph, as he walks up to his younger daughter with a smile on his face. He then reaches down as best as he can and scuffs the younger Tamera's hair. "I've always knew that you are a big girl, Tamera."

"Thankyou papa." said Both versions of Tamera, a couple of seconds later they both burst out laughing.

"Your welcome, girls." said Joseph, with a small smile. "Why don't we all go get a cup of tea and talk about why you all are here. But before I do, I'll call the others so we can have a meeting."

End of: Part 15: The Coming Warning.

To Be Continued in: Part 16: The begining of the end; Part 1.  
By Rathorc Lemenger. 


	18. Begining of the End, Part 1

Attack of the New Ziabach: Part 16: The begining of the end. Part 1 of 2.  
By Rathorc Lemenger.

(Authors note 1: Please don't sue me for any and all copyrighted characters. All other characters that are not in the original story line belong to me.)

(Continued from Part 15)

"Thankyou papa." said Both versions of Tamera, a couple of seconds later they both burst out laughing.

"Your welcome, girls." said Joseph, with a small smile. "Why don't we all go get a cup of tea and talk about why you all are here. But before I do, I'll call the others so we can have a meeting at the same time."

"Sounds like a good idea to me." said Zander, smirking as he walks beside his mother with her holding onto him as if he were a stuffed toy.

"Everything sounds like a good idea to you, Zander." said Alex, as she walks past her brother while tossing her blueish-green hair behind her while she swishes her tail back and forth.

"That's true, Alex." said Zander, nodding his head in agreement as the group starts out again towards the dining room while Joseph contacts the others, with his telepathy, to tell them to meet them there. "I can't wait to see grandma again, though."

"Whatever." said Alex, rolling her eyes at her brother. "I'll never understand you Zander, and I'm supposed to be your twin sister."

"Okey, you two." said Joseph, turning and looking at the twins. "That's enough bickering between the two of you.  
You sound just like little kids."

"Mommy." said Merle, holding back from giggling as the other children burst out into laughter. "You heard grandpa, stop bickering you sound just like us little kids."

"Oh boy." said Joseph, shaking his head while holding onto the baby twins in his arms. "Not another Tamera."

"What do you mean 'not another Tamera', papa?" asked the younger Tamera, as she looks up from talking with her older self.

"You don't have to worry, sweety." said Joseph, smiling at his younger daughter. "It's nothing that you have to worry about."

After a few minutes of walking, Joseph leads the group into the dining room for the meeting. He then hands the twins to Merle before he walks over to the kitchen only to return a few minutes later with a kettle and the ingredients for his mint tea, along with some cups for everyone. As his future children and grand-children take some chairs into the shadows and start to sit down, Van and the others walk into the room.

"What's going on, Joseph?" Allen asked, as he walks to his seat and sits down in one of the chairs. "Why did you call us for?"

"Well." said Joseph, smiling as Merle bounces the twins on her lap. "First of all, I'd like to introduce to all of you to Tamera, Zander and Alex from the future. I'd also like to introduce my, or should I say our, grandchildren from the future:  
Justin Edwin, Merle Fanel, Sera Belingla and Joseph Belingla."

"What do you mean?" asked Elaina, looking at the new-comers with a cocked eyebrow. "They don't even look like..."

Just then Joseph's four grandchildren stand up and walk forward from the cover of shadows to reveal that Justin and Merle both look like Joseph, while Sera and Joseph both look like thier mother, Tamera.

"See?" said Joseph, smiling a little to see the stunned looks on everyone's faces. "I told you that they're my grandkids."

"My god." said Elaina, as she gets up and walks over to the children. When she reaches them, Elaina kneels down in front of the children to get a closer look at them. After a couple of seconds, she looks up at Joseph with wide,  
wet eyes. "Your right. They do look like you, Joseph. Except for these two." she added, nodding at Tamera's two kids. "But they look so much like they're mother that it's not funny."

"Who is the stwange woman, mommy?" asked Joseph, looking over to where his mother is sitting.

"She's your great-grandmother, Joseph." said the older Tamera, as she stands and walks out of the shadows with the older Zander and Alex. "Because she's my grandmother, that's why she's your great-grandmother."

"Oh." said Joseph, he then looks back at Elaina with a smile on his face. "Hello gweat-gwandmommy. My name is Joseph Belingla."

"You named him Joseph?" asked Elaina, looking over at the older Tamera. She then shakes her head as she smiles.  
"I could ask, but I'm not."

"Well. Anywhoo." said Joseph, as he takes the baby twins from Merle, after finishing up making the tea. "The reason I called you here is because we have to make plans."

"What plans?" Elaina asked, as she stands up with Joseph in her arms.

***************************

*The next day*

After a three hours of working, Joseph leans back in his chair and rubs the tired feeling in his eyes with one hand and the kink in the back of his neck with his other hand. A second later, Joseph is interupted in his thoughts by a knock on his office door.

"Who is it?" Joseph asked, looking at the office door as it opens to reveal his grand-children and children standing in the doorway. "Hello everyone. What can I do for you on this most wonderful of mornings?"

"Hello gwandpa." said Joseph, as he comes walking into the room with the others as they all carry a smile on thier faces. "We just came to visit you. Wight mommy?" Joseph added, looking up at his mother.

"That's right, Joseph." said Tamera, smiling down at her son.

"Well, since you all came to say hi to me, why don't you all take a seat so we can have a long and comfortable conversation." said Joseph, smiling and indicating the other chairs. "It's always good to know that my grandkids are so considerate of thier elders."

"Thankyou grandpa." said Sera, as she flops into one of the chairs as the others sit down in the others. "How are you today, grandpa?"

"I'm fine, Sera." said Joseph, smiling at the group while leaning back in his chair. "Thankyou for asking Sera. Now,  
did you all have a good sleep last night?"

"We had a goood sleep, grandpa." said Justin, with a rather large and goofy smile on his face. He then looks up at his father with a cocked eyebrow. "Although I never thought that you were so small as a baby, daddy."

"Hey, Justin, Merle. I know something that you might want to know." said Joseph, leaning forward on his desk so he can look at the two kids with a large smile on his face. "But it's a secret."

"What grandpa?" asked Merle, as both her and Justin gets off their chairs and walk over to the desk. "What's the secret, grandpa?"

"Well." said Joseph, smiling at the two kids. "When your parents were babies, they used to have a lot of accidents in their diapers."

"Really, grandpa?" Merle asked, as she looks from her grandfather to her mother and back again. "They used to do that when they were babies?"

"Yes, and your Aunt Tamera used to wipe up thier bottoms, too." said Joseph, smiling with a slight glint in his eyes as he leans back. "Scary, isn't it?"

"Father." said Alex, looking at her father with one of those withering looks as all four of Joseph's grandkids start to laugh. "Why did you tell that to them? they're only kids."

"Well, I figured that they'd get a good laugh out of it." said Joseph, as all four kids are just standing there laughing even more.

"They don't need to know about those things, father." said Tamera, rolling her eyes. "They're only children you know."

"I know that, Tamera." said Joseph, as he leans back in his chair with his hands behind his head and a smile on his face. "Why else do you think I told them for?"

Just then, the younger Tamera comes walking into the office with a large smile on her face. After a couple of seconds, she walks over to the group.

"Hi everyone." said Tamera, waving at the group. "How is everything going?"

"Hi, mommy." said Sera, climbing off her chair and walking over to the younger Tamera and gives her a hug. "Did you have a good sleep?"

"Yep, I had a very good sleep Sera." said Tamera, as she hugs Sera back. "Thankyou for asking."

"Your welcome, mommy." said Sera, as Joseph walks over and joins Sera in giving the younger Tamera a hug.

"How cute is that now." said Joseph, as he places his elbow onto the desk and then places his chin onto his hand.

"Hmm." said Alex, smiling as she watches the younger version of her older sister laugh as she falls down with Sera and Joseph falling on top of her in a pile of laughing children. "I guess it all depends on how you look at it, papa."

"Oh. Before I forget." said Joseph, getting up and walking over to the closet that's nearby. Upon reaching the closet, Joseph opens the door and disappears into it for a couple of seconds. When he comes back out again, he's carrying four wraped boxes. "Okey children. I'd like all four of you to gather around me, 'cause your grandfather has something very special for you all."

"Weally, gwandpa?" Joseph asks, getting up off of his sister and younger mother as Joseph puts the boxes down onto the desk.

"Yes Joseph. There's something here for each and every one of you grandkids." said Joseph, as he smiles at the four children as they walk forward and stop at the desk. After a couple of seconds, when Joseph is sure that they're all gathered around him, he gives a present to each of the children. "Here you go, you four. Just to let you know, the younger Tamera helped me pick these for you all."

"Thankyou mommy." said Sera, looking over at the younger Tamera and recieves a smile from her as Joseph hands her the box that has her name on it.

"Go ahead and open them, you four." said Joseph, after he finishes handing out the boxes.

As the four kids are opening the boxes, Joseph looks at his three older kids with a smile on his face and a twinkle in his eyes. All of a sudden, Joseph's grandkids all let out sharp gasps of joy and amasement as they open up the tops to look in. A second later, they all take stuffed bears out of the boxes and look at Joseph with tears starting to form in thier eyes.

"Oh thankyou, grandpa." said Sera, as she and the others hold thier stuffed bears to themselves as they shuffle over to Joseph in order to give him a large hug. "They're pretty."

"I thought that you'd like them." said Joseph, as he bends down and hugs all four of his grandkids. "Your all welcome."

"Why did you have to go and do that for, father?" Alex asked, just as Merle comes walking in carrying the baby twins in her arms.

"What's going on in here?" Merle asked, with a cocked eyebrow and a slight smirk on her face as Joseph stands up.

"Gah." said Zander, as he looks at the other children. "Phllt."

"Nothing, dear." said Joseph, smiling as Merle walks over with the twins in her arms. When she reaches him,  
Joseph grabs the twins up into his arms. "C'mere, my two little happy children."

"Gah, phllt. Dada." said Alex, smiling up at her father as she holds tightly onto him.

"Oh really, now." said Joseph, nodding his head in agreement. "I never even knew that."

"Gah." said Zander, as he points over to Justin. "Phllt."

"Really." said Joseph, smiling and nodding his head again. He then looks over to the group with a smile on his face. "I got a great idea. Actually Zander had the idea."

"What is it gwandpa?" Joseph asked, looking up from playing with his stuffed animal. "What's the gweat idea?"

"The idea is this: why don't we all go into one of the courtyards and have a look around." said Joseph, smiling as he looks at everybody. "That's the idea that your uncle came up with, Joseph."

"Now that is highly unusual." said the older Tamera, scratching the back of her head. "How can you understand Zander and Alex as babies, father?"

"Same way I can understand you, Tamera." said Joseph, looking at the older Tamera as he starts to lead everyone out of the office. "It's not very hard to do, you know."

"Yeah, it's not hard for your father to do Tamera." said Merle, smiling as she walks beside her grandkids. "After all,  
they do speak the same language. But it's all gibberish to the rest of us."

"HEY." said Joseph, looking hurt as Merle slows down to walk with her husband. "That's no way to insult Zander and Alex."

"Who said that I was insulting the twins, dear." Merle said, with a gentle smile and a friendly poke of the finger into Joseph's ribs.

"That's just a plain low blow, Merle." said Joseph, pouting as Zander reaches over to his mother from Joseph's arms.

"Stop being silly, mother." said the younger Tamera, from where she was walking with the other children while holding hands with her future son and daughter.

"Mommy's wight, gwand-mommy." said Joseph, looking at his grandparents. "You both are being silly."

"Out of the mouth of babes." mumbled Joseph, smiling and shaking his head from side to side.

"What?" Merle asked, looking at Joseph with a cocked eyebrow.

"Hmm?" Joseph asked, looking at his wife to see the questioning expression on her face. "Oh. What I said was:  
'out of the mouth of babes'. It's an old Earth expression meaning that Joseph there just said the truth."

"I like that expression." said Sera, smiling and nodding her head. "It sounds nice."

"Well, I can't see why you couldn't use it Sera." said Joseph, smiling at his grand-children. "So enjoy it while you can. Heck you may even use it around your kids if you want."

"Here, pass me Zander, Joseph." said Merle, as she reaches over to her son.

"Sure." said Joseph, as he hands his son to his wife. "That arm is starting to fall asleep anyway."

"Really?" asked Merle, cocking an eyebrow at her husband with a seductive glint in her eyes. "Well, why don't we make some time up tonight, dear? That way I can help get all the kinks out of your arms."

"That sounds like an offer that I can't refuse." said Joseph, smiling coyly at Merle. "Especially since it's coming from such a beautiful woman."

"Oh, Joseph." said Merle, moving closer to her husband and taking his hand in hers. "You say the sweetest things sometimes. You know that?"

"Well, it's because I have some one who I love with all my heart and soul." said Joseph, gently giving Merle's hand a small loving squeeze. "After all, you are the beautiful woman who I fell in love with so many years ago."

"For that, you are going to have the time of your life tonight, Joseph." said Merle, giving Joseph a small wink.

"I have to agree that I like that idea, Merle." said Joseph, smiling at his wife with a slight twinkle in his eyes.

"Do the two of you mind?" asked Hitomi as she comes walking up behind them with her future son and Van on either side of her.

"Oh. Hey there, 'tomi." said Joseph, stopping and turning to look at his friend. "Where are the three of you headed off to?"

"We're just headed down to the city, Joseph." said Van, looking at the Edwin clan with a smile on his face. "We're just going to have some family fun." All of a sudden he looks at the older Alex and his grand-daughter just as the smile gets a little bigger. "Do the two of you want to join us?"

"Sorry, grandpa." said Merle, as she looks up at Van with a small smile on her young face. "We're going to go into the courtyard with my other granddaddy and grandmommy. If it's okey with you. Besides, mommy said that we're going to be here for a couple of days so that we can make sure that we can have fun. So I have enough time to be with both grand-daddies and grand-mommies."

"Makes sense, I guess." said Falgus, shrugging his shoulders while looking down at his daughter. "Well, I hope you have fun Merle. You deserve it."

"Thankyou, daddy." said Merle, as she smiles up at him with a twinkle in her eyes. "I will."

"So, Hitomi." said Joseph, smiling at his friends. "What are you getting in the city?"

"I don't know, Joseph." said Hitomi, as she shrugs her shoulders and smiles at him. "We're probably just going to walk around and enjoy the sights. Maybe even get something to eat at one of the food shops. If you have a problem with that you can take it up with me and Van."

"Hey." said Joseph, raising his free hand in mock self-defence. "Do you hear me saying anything? No. Your not hearing me say anything. All I'm going to say is have fun."

"I'll never understand you, Joseph." said Hitomi, as she shakes her head and laughing lightly.

"Well, that makes two of us, then." said Max, as he and Tabitha come walking up to the group with smiles on thier faces. "But for now, let's just let it be. It will always remain one of the many mysteries of the universe."

"What do you mean, uncle Max?" asked the younger Tamera, as she looks up at Max and Tabitha with a questioning look in her eyes.

"I wouldn't worry about it, Tamera." said the older Alex, as she reaches down and scuff's her sisters hair in a quirky manner. "Even in my time thier like that."

"Oh." said Tamera, as she looks up at the older Alex. She then rubs the back of her neck while looking up at the adults. "I guess your right, Alex."

"Hey grandma." said little Merle, as she walks up to Hitomi with a smile on her face.

"What is it Merle?" Hitomi asked, as she kneels down in front of her grand-daughter.

"Look what grandpa gave to me." Merle said, as she holds up her new stuffed bear. "Isn't he cute?"

"He is very cute, Merle." said Hitomi, as she spares a glance at Joseph that sends shivers up and down his spine.

"I know, grandma." said Merle, as she hugs the stuffed animal to her chest and laughs. "And he's all mine."

"Well." said Hitomi, as she stands up while smiling at the group. "We'd better get going." She then looks at Joseph. "I'll talk to you later."

"Yeah." said Joseph, with a small knowing smile on his face. "Talk to ya later, 'tomi."

*********************

"Now that was an interesting day." said Joseph, as he climbs into bed beside Merle that night.

"Your right, Joseph." said Merle, as she looks at her husband with a small twinkle in her eyes. She then looks out the window as she thinks for a couple of seconds before she looks back over at Joseph. "Although I never would have thought that even our grand-children would also have battle forms."

"Well, it makes sense, though." said Joseph, as he wraps an arm around Merle's shoulder.

"How so?" Merle asked, as she lays her head onto his shoulder.

"Well, they are our grand kids. So that means that they should have battleforms like us." said Joseph, smiling down at his wife. "Besides, I'd say that Zander's and Alex's kids take more after you then they do me."

"Joseph." said Merle, gently hitting Joseph on the chest while smiling at him.

"Well, it's the truth, you know." said Joseph, as he hugs Merle closer to himself. "Now. We should talk about what we're going to do tomarrow."

"Your right." said Merle, smiling as she moves closer to her husband so as to get more warmth from his body. "How about a picnic?"

"Sounds like a good idea." said Joseph, nodding his head as he starts to consider it for a couple of seconds. All of a sudden, he looks down at Merle with a slightly larger smile then before. "But I have a better idea."

"Which is what?" said Merle, as she cocks a eyebrow at him.

"How about a nature walk through the woods and then a picnic." said Joseph smiling as he looks up at the ceiling.

"Sounds good to me." said Merle, as she moves in closer to Joseph and gives him a light kiss on the neck. "It feels a little odd to have grand-kids, though. But then again it also feels good to know that we have some."

"I know what you mean, Merle." said Joseph, laying his head down onto the top of his wife's head. "It makes you feel like you accomplished something for the future."

"Hmmm." said Merle, as she closes her eyes while giving Joseph's body a small, loving squeeze.

"I guess, I'm the luckiest man in the world." said Joseph, smiling as he lifts the blanket up around Merle's shoulders some more in order to keep her warm.

***********************************************************************************

"Good morning, grandpa." said Sera, as she see's Joseph and Merle come walking into the diningroom the next morning, carrying the twins in their arms, while swallowing the food in her mouth. "Did you have a good sleep last night?"

"Of course I did, Sera." said Joseph, smiling at his future grand-daughter. He then holds onto Alex with a large smile as Merle looks at Zander in her arms. "Why wouldn't I?"

"Sewa." said the small Joseph, as he glares at his big sister. "Stop kicking me."

"I'm not kicking you, Joseph." said Sera, as she looks at her little brother. "So stop lying. You better remember what mommy said about lying."

"Now what did your mommy say about lying, Sera?" asked Merle, looking at her grand-daughter while sitting down in a chair next to Joseph and holding onto the younger Zander.

"She said that if we lie about something then our noses will grow out from our faces. But when we tell the truth after telling the lie, our noses go back to normal again." said Sera, as she looks at Merle. "That's what mommy said,  
grandma."

"You told them that old pinochio story didn't you, Tamera?" asked Joseph, looking at the older Tamera while sitting down and getting a plate of sausage and eggs served to him. He then smiles as Alex reaches out and takes some eggs off the plate and put them into her mouth.

"Yes, Father." said Tamera, looking up at her father from her plate. "Did I do wrong by doing that?"

"No, Tamera." said Joseph, smiling as he puts some eggs into his mouth. "You did nothing wrong by telling them that."

"Good." said Tamera, smiling while looking at her two children as they talk to her younger self. She then looks over at her father. "For a minute there, I thought that I did something wrong. After all, I had mother's example to go by."

Just as she says that, Joseph almost chokes on the eggs that he still had in his mouth before turning to see Merle blushing and smiling. He then turns and looks at Tamera, to see her smiling over at Merle.

"I think you just made your mother's day, Tamera." Said Joseph, smiling at her while glancing from her to Merle and back again.

"Thankyou, father." said Tamera, turning and looking at Joseph with a twinkle in her eyes. "I figured that she would like that compliment, even if it is the truth."

Just then, Van, Hitomi, Millerna, and the others come walking into the diningroom with smiles on thier faces. When they reach the table, they all sit down and recieve thier food from the servants.

"Thankyou." said Hitomi, as she recieves her plate of food with a rather large smile. She then looks over at her granddaughter. "Hello there, Merle. Did you have a good sleep?"

"Yup." said Merle, with her mouth full of eggs. After she swallows her food, she looks at Hitomi with a large smile.  
"I had a good sleep grandmommy. But I did have a funny dream last night though."

"What was it about, Merle?" asked Joseph, as the smile on his face fades a little bit.

"Well." said Merle, as she looks up at the ceiling with a distant look in her eyes as she tries to remember it. "It was about our family, and we were in a strange place with really funny looking buildings." She then looks at her grandpa Joseph. "Then you came out of one of the houses with a large smile on your face, and you were followed by Sera and Joseph. But when I looked around, there was no one else around other then this group and some other people that I never seen before."

"Ahhh." said Joseph, with a small smile on his face. He then looks at the group as they listen to the dream with rapt attention. "I think what we have here is a vision of a possible future. One in which I didn't exactly die in the explosion of the Epsilon, but was teleported back to earth when the explosion had happened. Then you all followed behind me."

"You mean that Merle here," said Hitomi, looking at Joseph from across the table. "Is able to see the future like I did?"

"And you still are able to, Hitomi." said Joseph, as he smiles at her. "Or have you forgotten that dream of yours,  
that you had the other day?"

"You saw the future?" asked Van, as he turns and looks at his wife. "Why didn't you tell me about it?"

"It wasn't anything major, Van." said Hitomi, shrugging as she looks at Van. "All it was about was our son's arrival with the older Tamera and the other children. That's all."

"You could have told me about it." said Van, as he watches her.

"Don't worry about it Van." said Joseph, smiling at his friend. "Just be glad that it wasn't anything serious. Not that this isn't serious, though."

"Okey, Joseph." said Van, as he runs a hand through his hair. "After all, it's not everyweek that you find out that you have a child on the way and then you actually get to meet that same child but from the future."

"Hmmm." said Joseph, as he leans back and strokes his beard with a small smile on his face. "I guess that your right, Van."

All of a sudden, Rupert runs into the diningroom in urgent look on his face.

"King Joseph.... we have a problem." said Rupert, as he's trying to catch his breath from the long, hard run.

"What is it, Rupert?" asked Joseph, sitting up straight as he gets a worried look on his face.

"T-the city..... is under..... attack.... your majesty." said Rupert, as he gathers up most of his wits. "It's Zaibach."

"Thanks Rupert." said Joseph, as he straightens up and hands Alex to Maria. "Maria, please take the children out of here and down into the safety of the safe room, please."

"You have a safe room? Since when did we have a safe room?" Merle asked, as she stands up and hands Zander to Maria.

"I'll explain everything later, Merle. But for right now, I want you to go with Maria, Hitomi, Millerna and our grand-  
children down stairs." said Joseph, as he walks to the door while Van, Allen, Max and Rupert get up and join him.  
"The rest of us will take care of the problem."

"We're coming too, father." said Alex, as she, Zander and the two Tamera's stand and walk to the door.

"Fine, Alex. I'm not in the mood for argueing with anyone." said, Joseph, as he disappears through the door. All of a sudden, he stops and turns to look at the group. "But I want the younger Tamera to go with your mother. Just so everything will be alright."

"Yes, papa." said the younger Tamera, as she follows Merle and the other women along with the other children, all the while holding onto Joseph's and Sera's hands as she urges them along.

After walking for a few minutes, the group reaches one of the windows that look out over a part of the city. For a half a minute, all they can do is look out at the Zaibach forces, as the new mecha make thier way towards the castle.

"Rupert?" asked Joseph, without turning and looking at the general.

"Yes, your majesty?" asked Rupert, as he steps to Joseph's side.

"Please tell all our soldiers that aren't out there already to make ready to go on the offensive. Then I want all gaimelf units sent out to engage the zaibach forces, that includes the prototypes." said Joseph, as he turns and runs down the hall towards the gaimelf bay.

"Wait for us, father." cried Alex, as she and the rest of the group chases after him, while Rupert runs off into the other direction in order to follow Joseph's instructions.

"Hurry up then." Joseph cries over his shoulder, as he runs head first down the hall. "Otherwise, Zaibach will reach us and I don't want that to happen."

After running for a minute, the group finally reaches the 'melf bay and runs into it. A couple of seconds later, the the bay doors open to reveal the giamelfs fully armed and ready for battle. A split second later, the giamelfs walk out of the hanger led by the Epsilon Harold.

"Okey people, let's do this." said Joseph over the speakers, as he switches the Harold over to battloid in order to access the battle mode.

"Affirmative, Joseph." said Allen as he brings his new mecha out of the hanger.

All of a sudden the giamelfs rush towards the gates as they open in order to let the group of giamelfs through.  
Once on the other side of the gates, Joseph and the rest of the group rush down the main street to meet the zaibach gaimelfs half way. All of a sudden, just as Joseph reaches an intersecton, two long strips come shooting out of the shadows and strike the Epsilon's shoulder armor, slicing neatly through it. A split second later, while Van and the others come to a stop, another, much larger, spike of armor comes shooting through the building ahead of them and embeds itself deep into the Epsilon's chest armor nearly hitting Joseph in the cockpit.

"What the hell???" Joseph yelled, as the Epsilon staggers back as the spike retracts out of the armor.

"Are you all right in there, father?" asked Alex, as her gaimelf catches her fathers.

"I'm all right, Alex." said Joseph, as he straightens his gaimelf up to full height as sparks and a little bit of smoke start to issue out of the holes in the armor. "But I think that the Epsilon'll need a good tune-up after this."

All of a sudden, laughter flows through the air towards the group as a large giamelf comes stomping through the smoke and rubble of the house. As the larger, more advanced, gaimelf unit walks out of the smoke and dust,  
it's revealed to be only a little larger then the Epsilon. As the smoke moves away from the new gaimelf, it is also revealed that the spikes that had shot out from the smoke had issued from a large portal in the right arm, right above the wrist.

"Who the hell are you?" asked Van, as he steps his new gaimelf up to stand beside the Harold as smoke and dust move past the group. "What do you want?"

"I'm here for something that is none of your concern." said a a voice of an elderly man, as the gaimelf takes another step forward. All of a sudden, the right arm raises and points at the Epsilon. "I am here to destroy that gaimelf and to kill the pilot."

"Why do you want to kill me for, pal?" asked Joseph, as he raises 'melf's arms and crosses them across his chest. A second later, the Epsylons swords shoot out from thier housings.

"You are interfering with my plans. That's why." said the male, as he takes another step towards the group.

"Who are you?" said Joseph, as he lowers his arms and proceeds towards the invader. "I hope that you realise that it is not approprate to go around threatening people."

"Hahaha. So you want to know my name, do you?" asked the man, from inside the gaimelf unit. "Fine, you shall know my name and then you shall tremble in fear."

All of a sudden, the mask that protects the face of the pilot from attacks lifts up to reveal a elderly man with a long white beard. A second later, Van steps back in shock as he looks onto the face.

"I-it can't be." said Van in horror, from inside his gaimelf. "Your dead. I seen your body when I rescued Hitomi years ago."

"Yes. It can and it is, Van Fanel." said the man, grinning at the group. "You may know me. My name is Dornkirk. I also have some other people here that you may also reconize, young fanel."

"No... you didn't." said Van, as he staggers backwards towards the group which causes Joseph to stop and look towards Van.

"You all right Van?" asked Joseph, as he turns and looks at his friend just as three spears of glistening metal shoot out from three different directions, impaling Vans 'melf. "SHIT." Joseph yells out when the spears had shot out from the surrounding buildings.

"Father. NO." sreamed Falgus, as he takes a step towards Van.

All of a sudden, the three spears retract out of the giamelf, which collapses to the ground in a heap, and enter the shadows. A couple of seconds later, the ground vibrates as three new gaimelfs appear out of the smoke and dust from between the buildings and stop.

"Aaahhh, there you are, my deciples." said Dornkirk, as he looks at the handiwork of the new group just as dozens of other Zaibach gaimelf's sorround Joseph and the rest of the group.

End of: Part 16: The begining of the end; Part 1

To be continued in: Part 17: The begining of the end; Part 2 


	19. Chapter 19

Attack of the New Ziabach: Part 17: The begining of the end. Part 2 of 2.  
By Rathorc Lemenger.

"You all right Van?" asked Joseph, as he turns and looks at his friend just as three spears of glistening metal shoot out from three different directions, impaling Vans 'melf. "SHIT." Joseph yells out when the Liquid metal spears had shot out from the surrounding buildings.

"Father. NO." sreamed Falgus, as he takes a step towards Van.

All of a sudden, the three spears retract out of the giamelf, which collapses to the ground in a heap, and enter the shadows. A couple of seconds later, the ground vibrates as three new gaimelfs appear out of the smoke and dust from between the buildings and stop.

"Aaahhh, there you are, my deciples." said Dornkirk, as he looks at the handiwork of the new group just as dozens of other Zaibach gaimelf's serround Joseph and the rest of the group.

"YOU BASTARD." yelled Folgus, as he turns and starts to charge at Dornkirk. "I'LL KILL YOU!!"

"Folgus No...." said Joseph, as he tries to make a grab for the Giamelf.

But before Joseph reaches Folgus to stop him, a Giamelf step in front of the Epsilon and slashes at him. Joseph quickly brings up one of the Epsilon's arms and parry's the blow. He then retracks the blade and slams his fist into the chest of the Giamelf, sending it staggering backwards. Joseph quickly turns and watches as Folgus races to Dornkirk only to be met by one of the other Giamelf's.

As if the strike were a signal, all hell breaks out as the Zaibach Giamelf's that were sorounding the Epsilon, Van and the others, rush into the group and start to attack. All Joseph can do is block, parry and dodge the attack's that are aimed at him.

"Father. Behind you." yells Alex, as she blocks a blade that was aimed for her.

Joseph tries to turn quickly to block the oncoming attack, but not quick enough, and catches the attack that neatly severs the left arm. Making that arm effectively useless.

"Damn it." yells Joseph, as he uses the Epsilon's lasers to strike the Giamelf, and killing the pilot instantly.

As Joseph spins around he see's that the other's are battling for thier lives. Just as he turns back around, Dornkirk catches Joseph by surprise, by lunging at him and shoving a liquid metal blade through the side armour of the Epsilon Harold. A second later, Dornkirk moves the blade up in, severing wires and metal until he severs the right arm of the Epsilon harold.  
When the blade finally passes through the last of the armour, the now severed arm falls to the ground with a solid thump.

"I hope that your ready to die." said Dornkirk, as he positions the blade right in the middle of the Epsilon's chest as sparks and smoke start to erupt from the Epsilon.

"Try your best." said Joseph, as he straightens the Epsilon up.

All of a sudden, from out of nowhere, Merle's Giamelf slams into the left side of Dornkirk's Giamelf and sends it flying.

"Leave my husband along." yells Merle, as she takes her Giamelf from Transport mode to Battloid mode.

"Merle... What are you doing here?? Where's the kids at???" asked Joseph, turning the Epsilon towards his wife.

"Me, Millerna, Hitomi, and Tabitha all came to help." said Merle, as Joseph see's the other women charge into the battle.  
"As to the children, they're with Maria at the moment."

Just as Merle finishes saying that, Dornkirk stands up and starts to walk towards Merle, raising his Giamelf's arm and pointing it at Merle.

"You're going to pay for that, woman." said Dornkirk, just as he forms a slim spear of liquid metal from one of the holes. "DIE."

A split second later, the metal spear shoots outwards straight towards Merle only to be embedded deep in the Epsilon's chest.  
After a second of standing upright, the Epsilon collapses to it's knees as Merle lets out a scream of pure terror.

"NO!!! JOSEPH!!!" yells Merle, as she runs her Giamelf to the Epsilon as it falls to the ground. When she reaches the downed Giamelf, she gets her Giamelf to kneel down beside her husbands. "Joseph.... Are you alright??? Speak to me.... please."

A second later, Dornkirk walks towards Merle and Joseph laughing as if he told a joke. When he gets to where Merle and Joseph are, he looks down at the two of them as if they were but specks of dirt on his clean boots.

"Well, it looks to me as if you dear husband is not going to answer you." said Dornkirk, poping his face shield up and looking down at the two of them. "You might as well forget about everything, since your going to be joining him in the afterlife."

"You.... You monster." said Merle, still holding onto her husband's Giamelf's hand. "Your going DOWN."

All of a sudden, Merle stands up, turning towards where Dornkirk is standing and rushes him, all the while screaming in rage.  
Just as Merle reaches him, unsheathing her Gialmelf's blade, Dornkirk creates a blade of liquid metal and blocks Merle's attack.  
A split second later, Merle's other hand ejects some claws from her free hand, she raises her hand up in a underhand strike.  
Upon seeing the movement, Dornkirk creates a second set of blades from his other hand and blocks the attack.

While the battle is raging around him, Joseph tries to make the Epsilon move around but to no avail. After two or three seconds, he looks down at his instruments, only to find that some of them are dead or die-ing.

"Damn it." said Joseph, as he tries to move some of the levers. After moving some of them to no avail. "Shit."

After moving two more of the levers, Joseph looks over at the working camera's to see how the battle is going. But as he watches, Dornkirk strikes at Merle's Giamelf. Just as he see's the strike, Joseph powers up and reaches over to the ejection button. The Epsilon's head hatch pops open and the cockpit slides up and out revealing Joseph still in his human Form while still in the pilots seat.

A second later, Joseph is gone from the Epsilons cockpit and appears on the left shoulder of Merle's Giamelf, blocking the blade with Malisk.

"I really don't think that that's a good idea, Dornkirk." said Joseph, as he can feel the muscles in his arms and legs straining from trying to keep the attack from striking his wife.

Just then, Dornkirk chuckles as he brings up his other arm in order to attack from below. Joseph just barely gives the attack a glance before he pushes off of Merle's Giamelf with all the strength that he can spare, which sends Merle stumbling backwards and leaving Joseph hovering there in mid-air. Joseph shoves himself away from Dornkirk, but not before Dornkirk's blade slices through his shirt and scoring a hit on Joseph. Joseph quickly looks down at himself and grimaces when he see's that the attack went through and scored a hit across his chest.

"Damn, that hurt." said Joseph, as he looks at Dornkirk with a look that there's going to be pain in the near future for Dornkirk.  
"And this was a gift from Tamera, too."

"That's such a shame." said Dornkirk, as he moves forward to press the attack. "But if I were you, I would worry about what that strike just did."

"Why's that?" asked Joseph, as he brings Malisk up to block the next attack.

"Take a look behind you." said Dornkirk, as he takes another step forward.

Just then, Merle let's out a scream which causes Joseph to turn around, only to find that one of Dornkirk's soldiers has a blade up to Merle's neck.

"MERLE." Joseph yells out, and makes a move to go to help his wife.

A split second later, Dornkirk charges forward, causing Joseph to spin around to face him, and proceeds to press the attack against Joseph. All Joseph can really do is block as many of the oncoming attacks as he possibly can, but could only block so many of the strikes, all the while recieving damage from some of the hits that are scoring in his flesh. All of a sudden, the Giamelf's left arm shoots up past Joseph's guard, hitting Joseph in the face and sends him flying through the wall of a nearby building. All of a sudden, the building collapses down on top of Joseph and the occupants, buring them under the rubble of the collapsed building.

"NOO..." Merle screams out in terror, as the dust and rubble start to settle. "JOSEPH."

"Humph." said Dornkirk, turning towards Merle and starts to advance towards her as the battle rages on around them. "That was a waste of my time."

All of a sudden, there's a clatter of rocks as the rubble starts to shift causing Dornkirk to turn around. A couple of seconds later, a large piece of rubble gets thrown to the side as a bruised and bloodied Joseph stands up. Joseph reaches up and clears out some of the blood from his eyes, revealing that there's nothing left of his left eye.

"I... Don't think.... so Asshole." said Joseph, breathing heavily, as he reaches down and picks up Malisk from where he dropped him when the building collapsed. "Your... not getting.... off so... easily...."

"Hahahaha. I'm impressed." said Dornkirk, as he watches Joseph stumble forward on a broken leg. "I didn't expect you to live through that."

"If... you really... want... to be.... impressed.... then just... watch.." said Joseph, as he keeps walking forward.

All of a sudden, a deep red glow starts to emanate from his body as it shifts into his battle-form.

"What the hell??" asks Dornkirk, as he steps away from Joseph. "What the hell are you??"

"If you really did your homework, Dornkirk, then you should already know." said Joseph, as he spreads his wings. "But since you didn't, I'll tell you. I was never human for many years."

After a couple more steps forward, Joseph is fully in his battle form and getting more primal looking with each passing second. All of a sudden, Joseph lunges forward, plunging Malisk deep within Dornkirk's Giamelfs left knee and slices to the right with all his strength that he can safely muster. When Malisk breaks through the armor of the knee, Dornkirk starts to fall to the side as the knee starts to collapse under the weight of the Giamelf. As he's falling, Dornkirk reaches out and catches himself on a nearby building.

With a growl of pure unadulterated rage, Dornkirk pushes off of the building and lunges at Joseph, swinging his blade down at his opponents head. When Dornkirks blade almost gets to Joseph, Joseph disappears from sight only to appear behind Dornkirk's left shoulder and slams Malisk through the armored shoulder and into Dornkirk's flesh and blood shoulder. After a second of having his blade in Dorkirk's shoulder, Joseph pulls Malisk out and flys over to the right, intending to sever Dornkirk's arm off at the elbow. But before he could do anything, Dornkirk swings around, slamming a fist into Joseph's stomach, sending him flying into another building.

"You bastard." yells Dornkirk, raising his arm up as the building collapses on top of Joseph, as a few flamelets lick the nozzle on the arm. "Prepare to DIE."

All of a sudden, a pillar of flame erupts from the arm and slams into the collapsed house. When it hits the building, it engulfs the entire building in flames. Dornkirk then turns towards the battle and watches as his forces starts to beat back Joseph's forces. Merle manages to get free of the Giamelf that's holding her and starts to attack him in retaliation. After what seems like a few minutes, there's an eruption of flame from the collapsed building, causing Dornkirk to turn towards the building. He looks around, trying to find the cause of the eruption.

"Looking for me???" asked a voice from above Dornkirk.

Upon hearing the voice, Dornkirk looks up to find Joseph floating above him still in his battleform holding Malisk in his left hand, and covered in flames, that are for some reason aren't harming him, from the destroyed building.

"What the..???" asked Dornkirk, taking a step backwards as Joseph raises Malisk, who is also sheathed in flames as well,  
out in front of him and points it towards Dornkirk. "Why won't you die? What in the nine hells are you??"

"You can not kill the forces of good, Dornkirk." said Joseph, in a loud voice that can be heard over the battle. After a couple of seconds the battle grinds to a halt as both sides turn to look at Joseph and Dornkirk. "As to what I am, I'm your worst Nightmare come to life."

Before Dornkirk can say anything else, Joseph flys in and proceeds to push his attack. The only thing that Dornkirk can do is try to block the attacks that are coming at him. But he could only block so many, since they're coming at him so fast. As Joseph scores every hit on Dornkirk, the slash is welded shut from the heat of the flames that are covering both Joseph and his sword.  
After a couple of seconds, Joseph starts to push Dornkirk back towards a wall.

"This can't be happening." yells Dornkirk, a both forces start to move out of the way as he stumbles backwards.

"Time to end this now." yells Joseph, as he stops attacking and moves Malisk to his middle pair of arms.

Joseph then motions with his upper pair of arms in order to release an energy blast at Dornkirk. But when he see's what Joseph is planning to do, Dornkirk points the working arm of his giamelf towards Joseph and calls out a small, thin blade of metal to kill his adversary with before Joseph can attack him.

"Surpreme Kamatchi Cosmos Strike." yells Joseph, as he throws out a large, wide beam of energy from his hands, towards Dornkirk. The force of the blast quickly puts out the flames that are covering Joseph and Malisk.

The beam of energy engulfs all of Dornkirk's giamelf but the right arm, which shoots out the blade of metal before the arm is also engulfed by the energy and melts with the rest of the Giemelf into a heap of slagged metal. The blade strikes Joseph in the chest and exits his back in a spray of blood. After two seconds of floating in mid-air, Joseph drops Malisk and starts to fall to the ground and into unconciousness, shifting back into his human form, as the flames dissapate from around his body. The last thing he see's is Merle's Giamelf running towards him as he slams into the ground hard and Malisk impales himself a foot into the ground .

*  
*MEANWHILE*

*Darkness* thinks Joseph, as he laying on what feels like ground. *So deep. Where am I?*

*It's alright now, Joseph.* replies a voice out of the darkness. *You have won all of your battles, and succeeded in defeating all of your enemies.*

*Who's that? Who's out there??* asks Joseph, trying to look around but can only see the deep impenetrable darkness that's surrounding him.

*I'm a friend.* answers the voice, as a spark of light appears out of the darkness. *Do not be afraid.*

*But where am I? You never answered that question.* says Joseph as he looks toward the light.

*Your at a crossroads right now, Joseph.* answers the light, bouncing a little bit. *A crossroads between the peace of death and the chaos of life. You now have an important choice to make.*

*A choice you say?* asked Joseph, standing up off the ground.

*Yes. It is quite THE important choice.* said the light, floating in front of Joseph's face.

*Well, I know that the peace of death would be nice, but I don't want to leave my family and friends.* said Joseph, thinking and rubbing his chin. He then looks directly at the spark. *Especially my family. You know my answer, then.*

*Yes, we know your answer.* said the light, bobbing in front of him. *Then let it be so.*

*  
*In the outside world*

Before Merle reaches Joseph, there's a strong wind starts to blow from out of nowhere, causing Merle to stop in her tracks from the force of the wind. After a couple of seconds, the wind picks up in strength, blowing dust and any loose debris from the street. As the force grows in strength, it quickly extingushes the flames of the fires that are burning through out the city.

"No." yells Merle, as she tries to make her way to where she last seen her husband before the wind came up and started to blow all the dust and debris. She all of a sudden is blocked by the twins giamelf's. "Let me go. I have to get to your father"  
she cries.

"No mother." yells Alex, as she starts to strain in order to stop her mother.

All of a sudden, the wind storm stops as suddenly as it started up. After a couple of seconds, as the dust clears from the air,  
a bright white glowing orb of light can be seen floating in the air above the empty space where Joseph was laying, as if a second sun was born.

The End!  
Up next: The Epilogue!! 


	20. Interlude

An Attack of the New Zaibach Interlude.  
By Rathorc Lemenger.

(Authors note 1: This side piece takes between parts 7 and 8 of the original Attack of the New Zaibach story line.)

(Authors note 2: Please don't sue me for any and all copyrighted characters. All other characters that are not in the original Escaflowne story belong to me.)

As dawn arrives, the sun shines down on the main courtyard of King Maximillian's castle where Van, Allen, and Joseph are practicing at a liesurely pace. After a few minutes, Joseph stops practicing with Van in order to walk over to the fountain so he can splash water on his face. Just as he bends over the fountains edge, Joseph is sent flying face first into the fountain when something hits him from behind.

"Good morning, daddy." said Tamera, as she lands on the edge of the fountain in her battle-form while Joseph sits up and pulls a gold fish out of his mouth. All Van and Allen can do is laugh thier heads off at what just happened.

"Good morning to you too, Tamera." said Joseph, as he throws the fish over his shoulder and spits out some water. "Would you care to explain to me why your up so early for? and where is your mother at??"

"Mommy's still in bed, and you promised that you'd take me out into the city to shop." said Tamera, giggling as she shifts back into her human form.

"Are you alright, Joseph?" Allen asked, as he walks over and helps Joseph out of the fountain. All the while, he's trying not to laugh.

"Yeah." said Joseph, as he takes his shirt off and rings the water out of it. "I'm fine, Allen. At least I don't have to worry about bathing now."

"I'm sorry about getting you all wet, daddy." said Tamera, as she sniffles a little. "Are you mad at me?"

"That's all right, Tamera." said Joseph, smiling as he kneels down in front of Tamera. "If you think for one minute that I'm mad at you, you are very wrong."

"Really, daddy?" Tamera asked, as Joseph reaches over and wipes the wetness from her eyes with a bit of his shirt.

"Of course, I'm not mad at you." Joseph answered, as he places his hands down on his knees. "I could hardly be mad at you for something like this. Its just a minor setback, is all."

"Thankyou, daddy." said Tamera, as she steps forward and wraps her arms around Joseph's neck in order to hug him. "Your the best daddy ever."

"That's what I hear tell." said Joseph, as he hugs Tamera back.

"I know daddy." said Tamera, as she backs away from him with a million dollar smile on her face. After a couple of seconds, she gets a thoughtful look on her young face. "Umm, daddy?"

"Yes, Tamera?" asked Joseph, as he stands up and puts his shirt back on.

"Maybe you should change, I don't think mommy would like it if you get a cold." said Tamera, tilting her head to the left and looks up at Joseph through her eyelashes.

"I think your right, Tamera." said Joseph, as he looks down at his wet and dripping clothes. "It's better safe then sorry."

"You mean that it's better then having Merle yell at you, right?" Van asked, as he step up beside Joseph.

"That too, Van." said Joseph, turning to look at Van as he reaches down and takes Tamera's hand in his. "You know how vicious she gets when it's about mine and Tamera's health. Now if you'll please excuse me Van, I have a promise to keep to my wonderful daughter."

"Of course, Joseph." said Van, reaching over and pats a hand on Joseph's shoulder. "No one is stopping you from spending time with your family."

"I know, Van." said Joseph, smiling at his friend. A second later, Joseph walks past Van and into the castle, hand-in-hand with Tamera. "So, Tamera. What are you going to buy down in the city?"

"I don't know daddy." said Tamera, shrugging her shoulders as she walks beside her father. "Maybe I might get some new dresses or some new dolls for my collection."

After a few minutes of walking, Joseph and Tamera reach thier bedroom and walk in to see Merle getting dressed behind the curtain that both her and Tamera use.

"Good morning, Merle." said Joseph, as he walks over to his dresser with a slight wet sound to his step all the while trying not to capture Merle s attention . "Have a good sleep?"

"Of course I did, dear." said Merle, coming out from behind the curtain. Upon seeing Joseph dripping wet, she stops in mid-movement and a deep scowl on her lips. "Why are you wet for?"

"I tripped and fell into the fountain. That's all." said Joseph, smiling as he turns to where Merle and Tamera are,  
while taking off his wet shirt and taking the dry one from the bed.

"How come I think that it's not that simple?" Merle asked, laying her hands on her waist, while her tail swishes furiously about her feet from under her long dress. "It's never that simple."

"Oh it's that simple." said Joseph, nodding his head. He then looks over at Tamera, who's sitting in one of the chairs at the table. "Right Tamera?"

"Daddies right, mommy." said Tamera, as she nods her head in agreement. "I know. I saw him trip and fall into the fountain."

"You'd say anything to protect your father," said Merle, turning her head and looking at her daughter. "You know that, Tamera?"

"Yep." said Tamera, giving a sharp nod and a large smile. "He's my daddy after all."

"Anyway." said Joseph, as he walks over behind the curtain to change his pants. "Me and Tamera are going out into the city, Merle. So you don't have to worry."

"What are going out for?" Merle asked, cocking her eyebrows a little bit.

"One word, mommy. Shopping." said Tamera, swinging her legs back and forth on the chair.

"Ahh. Sounds like fun." said Merle, smiling as Joseph walks out from behind the curtain and up to her from behind.  
When he reaches her, he wraps his arms around her waist. "What are you getting Tamera?"

"I don't know yet, mommy." said Tamera, smiling as she watches her parents. "I think I might get a pretty dress."

"That's always a good idea, Tamera." said Merle, as she reaches up and pats her husband on the cheek. After a couple of seconds, she turns and looks at Joseph. "Actually. That's not a bad idea."

"What do you mean, Merle?" asked Joseph, cocking an eyebrow at his wife.

"Well." said Merle, smiling as she moves away from her husbands arms. "Why don't you get some clothes too,  
Joseph?"

"Huh?" asked Joseph, rubbing the back of his neck.

"You. Need. New. Clothes." said Merle, punctuating each word by poking Joseph in the chest with the tip of her finger. "In fact. I'm going with you in order to make sure that you do just that."

"I'm not going to be able to talk you out of it, am I Merle?" Joseph asks, as he steps back from his wife.

"No. Your not, Joseph." said Merle, shaking her head as she turns and walks over to the mirror so she can comb her hair.

Joseph just nods his head while slowly inching his way over to the deck door.

"Don't even think about it, dear." said Merle, saying the last word with such venom that it causes Joseph to stop and the blood in his veins to go ice cold. "Otherwise your sleeping on the floor tonight."

"How did you know what I was thinking?" asked Joseph, as he walks over to stand behind Merle.

"I'm your wife, Joseph. It's part of the job." said Merle, as her reflection smiles up at him.

"Yeah, daddy." said Tamera, as she slides off her chair and walks over to stand beside Joseph. "It's mommies job."

"You are such a suck-up, Tamera. You know that?" asked Joseph, smiling down at Tamera and recieves a sharp nod from her. He then looks at Merle with a cocked eyebrow as he lays a hand onto her shoulder. "Almost ready?"

"Just give me one more minute, Joseph." said Merle, as she brushes the hair between her ears.

Just then, there's three rapid knocks on the door, causing Joseph, Merle and Tamera to jump slightly.

"Could you answer the door please, Joseph?" Merle asked, as she glances at her husband.

"Sure thing, Merle." said Joseph, nodding his head. He then walks over to the door and opens it to reveal that it was king Maximillian who had just knocked. "Oh, hello your majesty. What do we owe this pleasure to?"

"I just came to give you, your wife and your daughter these." said king Max in answer to Joseph's question with a smile, as he hands Joseph three small slips of paper. "They're tickets to see the circus that just came into town."

"Uh. Thankyou, your majesty." said Joseph, stunned a little bit as he takes the tickets from the king. A second later,  
Joseph reaches out and takes the kings hand in his, then shakes it vigourously. "Thankyou from the bottom of my heart."

"That is quite alright, Joseph." answered king Max, as his smile gets a little bigger. He then manages to take his hand away from Joseph, then places both hands onto Joseph's shoulders while looking at him in the eye. "Just go have fun with your family. Besides, it was Van who got those tickets for you. Not me. But you didn't hear it from me."

"Thankyou king Maximillian." said Joseph, as king Max let's go of Joseph's shoulders and walks down the hall toward his thrown room. Joseph then shuts the door and turns to look at Merle and Tamera with a confused look on his face.

"Who was that, Joseph?" Merle asked, cocking a red eyebrow with concern. "What's wrong?"

"That was just king Max." said Joseph, shaking his head as he chuckles to himself while walking over to the table and sits down.

"Well? What did he want?" asked Merle, sounding more worried by the second because of Joseph's reaction to her earlier questions. She then walks over to her husband with Tamera.

"Well." said Joseph, handing the three tickets to Merle. He then looks at Tamera with a smile on his face. "It looks like Van paid for us to go to the circus."

"We're going to the circus?" Tamera gasped, looking at her father. She then scratches her head a little as she glances from Joseph to Merle, who's reading over the tickets over and over again, and back to Joseph. "But why did mister Van do that for, daddy?"

"Who knows with him, Tamera." said Joseph, as he smiles at his daughter. "He's confusing that way. So I don't ask."

"Oh." said Tamera, looking down at her feet. she then shrugs her small shoulders and looks at Joseph. "Okey daddy. I guess your right."

"I'm almost always right, Tamera." said Joseph, smiling at her as he reaches over to Merle and places his hands onto her slender waist. He then pulls Merle down onto his lap as a small shriek issues from her lips as she throws out her arms in order to keep stable. "C'mere you beautiful woman and give me a kiss."

"Do you mind, Joseph?" said Merle, glaring at Joseph as Tamera bursts out into laughter. "Not in front of Tamera."

"She doesn't care if her parents cuddle. Do you, Tamera?" Joseph asks, as he grins from ear to ear while looks over at Tamera, who just nods her head in agreement. "See, Merle? like I said, she doesn't care."

All of a sudden, the door opens to reavel Allen, Van, Hitomi and Millerna as they watch the three family members.  
Merle then quickly climbs off of Joseph's lap after a couple of seconds of stunned embarressment.

"H-hello, Lord Van." said Merle, blushing and stuttering like mad. "W-what are you doing here."

"We just came by to see if you liked your little gift, that's all Merle." said Van, giving Merle a small smile. "Well?  
Do you like it?"

"We like it a lot, Mr. Van. said Tamera, grinning from ear to ear. All of a sudden, Tamera climbs out of her chair, as the four adults walk through the door and into the room, and walks over to Van. When she reaches him, she wraps her arms around Van's legs while looking up at him with her best smile. "Thankyou, Mr. Van. I've never gone to the circus before."

"Your welcome, Tamera." said Van, looking down at Tamera with a small smile on his face. He then looks at Joseph with a confused look on his face. "But how did you know that it was me that sent you those tickets?"

"Well there's three ways that we knew. First: simple deduction." said Joseph, smiling and shrugging his shoulders as he stands up. "Second: King maximillian told us that it was you who sent them. And three: you just revealed to us that it was you who sent them here."

"Ah." said Van, nodding his head knowingly. He then looks at Hitomi. "Remind me later to talk to king Maximillian,  
will you Hitomi?"

"Sure thing, Van." said Hitomi, nodding her head. But when Van turns his head his head back to look at Joseph,  
she just shakes her head.

"So, Van." said Joseph, smiling at his friend as he watches Hitomi out of the corner of his eye. "What's with the tickets to the circus?"

"Well, I figured that I'd do something nice for you and your family yesterday." said Van, as he watches Joseph and Merle while Tamera goes over to stand beside her father. "So I went and got those three tickets for you."

"That was very kind of you, lord Van." said Merle, as she blushes at what Van did. "Thankyou."

"Your welcome, Merle." said Van, turning and smiling at his life-long friend. "After all, your like a sister to me,  
Merle. I'd do anything to make you happy."

"Um, Van?" Joseph asked, pointing past Van and into Hitomi's direction. "You may want to refraise that."

"What do you me....." asked Van, turning around and stopping when he see's Hitomi glaring at him. "It's not what you think dear." He added hastily.

"Why don't you tell me what I think, DEAR?" Hitomi asked, sounding furious at her husband.

"Hitomi, calm down." said Joseph, laying his hand down on Van's shoulder. "Van didn't mean for it to come out the way that it did."

"Stay out of this, Joseph." said Hitomi, glancing at Joseph before back at Van. "Well Van? are you going to answer me?"

"If your going to do that, 'tomi, the least you could do is go to your own room." said Joseph, rolling his eyes.

"Joseph's right, Hitomi." said Allen, as Millerne nods her head in agreement in response to what Allen had just said.

"Thanks. I think." said Joseph, rolling his eyes and shrugging slightly.

"I guess that your right, Joseph." said Hitomi, frowning and rubbing her forehead. "It's just one of those days that I can hardly think straight."

"If it's what I think it is Hitomi, then I don't understand how a woman can have two in as many weeks. You had it just last week right?" asked Joseph, taking his hand off Van's shoulder and scratches his head in confusion. "Didn't you?"

"Yeah. I did, Joseph." said Hitomi, blushing slightly. "But it's not that. It's the damn humidity."

"Just be glad that it's not too bad, Hitomi. " said Merle, walking over beside Joseph and poking him in the ribs with her elbow in order to shut him up, giving him a dirty look all the while. She then looks back at Hitomi with a gentle smile on her face. "Why don't you go for a small swim."

"That's not a bad idea, Merle." said Millerna, nodding her head in agreement. She then turns to Hitomi and smiles. "Why don't we go swimming, Hitomi? Just you and me."

"Sure." said Hitomi, shrugging while letting out a small, almost imperceptable sigh. "Even though there's nothing for us to do."

Oh I know what you can do, miss Hitomi said Tamera, raising her hand up into the air. You can go shopping

"Well, there s that." said Joseph, rubbing his now sore ribs while doing a quick heal on them. "But you could always go for a nature walk or even do a little fishing."

"A nature walk is an excellent idea, Joseph." said Hitomi, nodding her head in agrrement and smiling at the statement.

"I like nature, daddy." said Tamera, smiling up at the group. "I like nature alot."

"Is there anything you don't like, Tamera?" Merle asked, looking down at Tamera with a gentle smile twisting at the corners of her mouth.

"I hate spiders and people who are mean to, bad to, and like to hurt little boys and girls for no reason." said Tamera, after thinking for a couple of seconds. "Thats what I really hate."

"Can't blame you there, kiddo." said Joseph, smiling and scuffing his daughters long hair. "Well, I think we should go and see Van's present for us before he changes his mind."

"Your right, Joseph." said Merle, smiling at her husband with a cocked eyebrow. "And if your a good boy today, then you may get a treat tonight."

"Not in front of Tamera, Merle." said Joseph, as he grins like crazy.

*********************************

"Well, I have to admit that today was quite entertaining." said Joseph in a low voice, as he's carrying a sleeping Tamera in his arms into the room, all the while she has her arms wrapped around his neck and her head laying on his left shoulder. He then walks over to Tamera's bed and places the young girl into the bed, then proceeds to tuck her in.  
"Tamera sure seemed to enjoy it."

"Your right, Joseph." said Merle, walking over to Joseph, putting her arms around his waist while laying her head onto his shoulder. "But it is good that she's tired."

"How so?" Joseph asked, turning his head to look at Merle with a smile on his face.

"It gives us some time alone together, of course." said Merle, stepping back and gently rubbing her filling stomach. She then smiles at Joseph with a cocked eyebrow before looking towards the bed.

"Hmm." said Joseph, as he turns and steps up to Merle, placing his hands behind her back. "I don't need telepathy to know what your thinking of, Merle."

"Good." said Merle, as she takes the collar of Joseph's shirt and practactly drags him over to the bed. "Because I don't want you to use it. If you know what I mean."

*********************************

*A couple of hours later.*

As earth rises up beside the moon, all the while the shine from both celestrial objects project thier light into the room in such a way as to land right onto Tamera's small face. After a few minutes, Tamera's eyes blink themselves open. As she lays there in her bed, Tamera sleepily looks around so as to find what had awakened her.

"Mmm?" asked Tamera groggily, as she sits up in bed while wiping her eyes with her fists. She then looks over at her parents, only to find them sleeping soundly in each others arms. "Where did that sound come from?" she asked sleepily.

All of a sudden, a large clattering erupts from somewhere in Joseph's office, causing Tamera to jump a couple of inches out of her bed.

"What was that?" asked, Tamera, bringing the sheets up under her chin while glancing at her still sleeping parents. A couple of seconds later, she then reaches down and grabs her stuffed bear as she slips out of bed. "Come on teddy. Let's go see what's going on in daddies office."

Once her feet touch the wooden floor, Tamera tiptoes, as best as she can, over to Joseph's office. Upon reaching the door,  
Tamera opens it far enough to allow her to peek in with a single eye.

"Do you see anything, teddy?" asked Tamera, bringing her stuffed bears face up to the crack of the open door. "I don't see anything,  
teddy. It's to dark."

All of a sudden, there's a loud bang of something heavy hitting the wall beside the door, which causes Tamera to let out a high-pitched scream as she goes running over to her parents bed just as both Joseph and Merle sit up right from the scream.

"What's wrong, Tamera?" asked Joseph, as Tamera jumps up into the bed and climbs under the covers between Joseph and Merle.

"Th-there's a m-m-monster in your office, daddy." said Tamera, sounding muffled from under the blankets. All of a sudden, she pokes her head out from under the blankets in order to look up at Joseph. "Me and teddy are scared, daddy."

"I'll go take a look, Tamera. Okey?" asked Joseph, looking down at his daughter as he climbs out of the bed to reveal that he's wearing a pair of shorts but no shirt and recieves a nod of agreement from her. He then looks at his wife with a gentle, knowing smile. "Stay with her, Merle."

"Sure, Joseph." said Merle, nodding her head as she tries to calm the scared Tamera down.

"Be careful, daddy." said Tamera, as she puts her head back under the blankets.

"I will, Tamera." said Joseph, as he switches over to his battleform and uses his battleforms sense of sight to see what he's doing.

Joseph then walks quietly over to the door and lays a large hand onto the door latch. After a second or so, he looks over to Merle and gives her a small smile in order to tell her that he's going in. After a minute in the office and scuffling around with the intruder, Joseph walks out with a bundle of cloth. From where she is, all Merle can do is watch as Joseph walks over to the nearby patio door, opens the door, and throws the bundle out of it. Once it's gone, Joseph quickly shuts the door and walks over to where Tamera is hiding under the covers while changing into his normal human form and lifts the blankets from Tamera's small and scared face.

"Okey, Tamera." said Joseph as he smiles down at his daughter as she sits up with her stuffed bear in her arms and a worried expression on her face. "It's gone."

"It is, daddy?" Tamera asked, looking around for a second before looking up at her fathers face and recieves a nod of his head. "What was it, daddy? It scared both me and teddy really bad."

"All it was was a good sized fruit bat. That's all, sweety." said Joseph, as he sits on the edge of the bed. He then glances at Merle before continueing. "But if you want to, you can sleep in mine and your mothers bed. How does that sound to you, Tamera?"

"Okey daddy." said Tamera, smiling sheepishly as she rubs her tired eyes.

"In that case, Tamera, why don't you nudge closer to your mother so I can lay down too." said Joseph, smiling as he scuffs Tamera's hair, making it messier then what it was.

"Okey." said Tamera, yawning as she lays down and nudges closer to Merle.

"There's my little girl." said Joseph, as he lays down beside Tamera and pulls the blanket over both of them. "Now lets all get some good,  
restful sleep."

Just as he finishes the sentence, Joseph looks down at his daughter and see's that she's already fast asleep. He then looks over at Merle and smiles at her, shrugging his shoulders. Both him and Merle then lay down with the young girl between the two of them and fall to sleep as a family.

***********************

*The next day*

"Wachoooo." sneezed Joseph, sitting up from the pressure and strength of the sneeze.

A second later, Joseph let's out an even larger sneeze that causes both Merle and Tamera to wake up.

"What was that noise, daddy?" Tamera asked, rubbing her tired eyes as she sits up and looks up at her father.

"Nothing .... Wachooo ... Tamera." said Joseph, sneezing and glancing down at his daughter. All of a sudden, he tries to breathe in through his nose only to reveal that it's stuffed up. "Although, I may have caught a cold sometime during the night."

No sooner then he finishes the sentence, he lets out another loud sneeze that causes him to be flung backward onto his pillow.


	21. Epilogue

Escaflowne 2: Attack of the New Ziabach:

Epilogue:

*About 2 weeks after the events of Chapter 17.*

Joseph slowly wakes up in the bed of his and Merle's bedroom. Vision swimming around some, as he takes the sight of the darkened room in. After what appears to be about 10 minutes, the door opens to reveal a shadowed form, causing Joseph to turn and look through his good eye. After about a minute, the door closes and the person walks over to the bed, to reveal that it's Merle. She doesn't notice that Joseph's awake yet, since he hasn't said anything and she is on the opposite side that his good eye is on. As she sits down, she slowly lets out a small sob.

"Joseph, when will you wake up?" says Merle, raising her hands to her face to wipe away some of the tears that are starting to trickle down her face. "Your family needs you."

"Well, I could do with some water, first." says Joseph, with a slight croak to his parched throat. "Maybe even some food. I'm so hungry that I could eat a land dragon."

"J… Joseph?" Merle says, standing straight up and looking down at her husband. "You're awake? Hold on, I'll get some water."

Merle then rushes to the door, opens it with a loud bang, and then yells for someone gets some water. She then rushes back in, leaving the door open.

" Joseph. I can't believe that your awake." says Merle, rushing back over to the edge of the bed. "I'm so relieved."

"I'm glad." says Joseph, as he shifts his body some under the covers.

Just then, Tamera, Joseph's parents (who are carrying the younger twins) and the others rush into the room, surrounding the bed. After about a minute or so, a servant rushes in with a tray with a pitcher of water and a cup. Merle quickly takes the tray from the servant, putting it on the night stand and pours some water into the cup. She then leans over her husband and brings the cup to his lips with one hand and lifts his head to meet it with the other. After about a minute of him drinking water, Merle takes the cup away from his mouth and gently sets Joseph's head back down onto the pillow.

"Can I ask a question?" Joseph asks, as he looks around at the group from his bed.

"Of course you can, Joseph." says Joseph's mom, smiling as she shifts Alex, who's babbling away, to her other arm.

"Thanks, mom." says Joseph, glancing towards his mother. "Could someone mind telling me what's going on?"

"You mean, you don't remember, Joseph?" asks Hitomi, looking down at her friend.

"No. I don't." said Joseph, trying to find a more comfortable position. "All I remember is being thrown into a building by Dornkirk."

"Well. It's complicated than that." says Merle, sitting down on the edge of the bed. "After you were thrown into the first building…"

"First Building?" asked Joseph, looking alarmed. "What do you mean 'first building'?"

"You were thrown straight through three separate buildings, Father." says the younger Tamera.

"I Was?? And how, pray tell, do you know that Tamera?" Asks Joseph, looking at the young girl.

"Mother told me." Said Tamera, pointing at her mother.

"Ahh." said Joseph.

"Well, why don't you rest up, dear." said Merle, smiling at her husband. "We'll explain everything to you later on."

"Fine, Merle." sighs Joseph, as he starts to fall asleep.

*********************************************

*1 Week Later*

As we look into the bedroom of Joseph, we see that he's trying to get out of bed with the help of Merle. After a few minutes of struggling to stand, Joseph finally manages to with a slight facial cringe.

"Damn it." says Joseph, cringing as he finally gets to his feet and slowly moves over to a nearby chair. " I hope it's not going to be this hard to get out of bed."

"You and me both, Joseph." says Merle, helping her husband to the chair. "But the doctors are saying that you'll eventually be back to your old self. They did say that you MIGHT be stiff for awhile."

"Hmm… Yeah. Unfortunately." says Joseph, slipping on some of the clothes that are sitting nearby. "But what can you do."

"Well, it IS your own fault for it, Joseph." Says Merle, smirking some at her husband and helping him get dressed. "But I'm happy that you're alive."

After a few more minutes of struggling to get dressed, Joseph gets up from the chair with help of Merle. They then make their way, slowly, out of their room and down the hallway. As they're walking, Joseph notices that there's a lot of soldiers on either side of the hallway. And as they pass each soldier, that soldier salutes both Joseph and Merle.

"Um, Merle?" Joseph whispers to his wife.

"Yes, Joseph?" Merle asks, glancing inquisitively at her husband.

"What's with all the soldiers lining the halls?" says Joseph, stopping for a moment to get his breath.

"You'll see, dear." says Merle, smiling at him mysteriously. "You'll see. Come on, let's get going on to the throne room."

Joseph just sighs, and shakes his head and starts walking again. After walking a little longer, they finally get to the back door to the throne room, on either side of the entrance way are four soldiers in ornate armour, two on either side. Meanwhile, Rupert is standing in front of the two doors, also dressed in ornate armour. He then looks from Merle to Joseph with a slight smirk.

"Are your majesties ready?" asks Rupert, smiling some at the couple.

"Just about." says Joseph, stopping and then looking around. "Although, we are missing three people. Where's Tamera and the twins?"

"Right here, father." says Tamera, wearing a pink, yellow and red dress walking up with Joseph's parents, who are carrying the twins in their arms.

"Sorry for taking so long, Joseph." says Joseph's mother. "We were having trouble getting Zander and Alex ready."

"That's alright, Mom." says Joseph, shrugging at her. "I was just curious, is all. Is everyone ready to do this?"

After everyone acknowledges that they're ready, Joseph looks at Rupert and nods. Rupert then walks to the door and looks at the guards that are standing at the door and nods at them.

"Their Royal Majesties are now ready th greet the public." says Rupert, looking between the four guards. "Open the doors."

Two of the guards move in front of the doors and opens them, then they and the other two guards go into the room which turns out to be the public throne room with the walls and windows all opened to the air. Then Rupert glances towards Joseph, who nods at him, then walks forward through the doors. He walks to the platform that's holding the thrones.

"I would like to present to you, their Royal Highnesses, King Joseph Jason Edwin the First, Queen Merle Edwin, Princesses Tamera Edwin and Alexandria Edwin and Prince Alexander Edwin." says Rupert, in a loud voice that rings through out the room and beyond.

Just then, music starts playing from trumpets as Merle and Joseph exchange glances and brief smiles as they walk through the doors with Joseph's parents as they carry the twins and Tamera walks beside her father. Meanwhile, there's loud overwhelming cheering as the family makes their appearance. All Joseph can do, as he sits and looks out over the large crowds that are in the room and out in the halls and in the courtyard that the throne room and halls are over looking is smile as a single tear runs down from his eye. All that can be heard is the chanting of Joseph's name. Not even the music from the large band at the side of the room can be heard, the cheering is that loud.

End of Epilogue.

A/N: Thanks everyone for reading my story. I hope that you enjoyed it and write some reviews for it. Thank you again.


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